Chapter 29: Hero standing through it!

"Gan Gang Ja is on her way down, no, no—!!" Derek heard tussling coming from upstairs, he attempted to go and help but was stopped by his illness and began coughing blood, it was like his body assured him that he couldn't run any further as his strength gave out and fell back to the ground. "You're not going to be of any bit of help." Said Soo-Ae as she walked over and sat with him. "Obviously." Derek replied with a disheartened tone as his breathing became heavier accompanied by a painful groan as he looked away. "You're going to save us." Soo-Ae declared as she put her head on her chin, assuring herself in her thoughts. Derek responded with a befuddled expression rather than his words. "The one time you refuse to ask a question since you first showed up? Let me explain, I love this part, only Duri knows about this. Reading through their stories, I noticed some strange phenomenon, one of them vaguely described they were capable of an ashen practice that has gone unrecorded. I read through more, certain heads describe their children capable of ashen practices they were unable to do previously." Soo-Ae informed her cousin as she walked towards her practice circle. "You can really make me strong enough to defend us?!" Derek asked as he looked away from her. "For five minutes I can make you our knight, our ace, our power!" Soo-Ae shouted with a passionate tone as she knelt down on her knees in the meditation circle. "That'd make you the connoisseur, the composer, the architect!" Derek rejoiced as he laid his back on the ground to rest. "I wonder what the others are then?" Soo-Ae replied. "Now I have so many questions." Derek admitted with a low tone. "Now you have so many questions. To answer the most important question we need to be sure about before performing this, I did my research but I'll still have to go with my gut on this one. Your family stayed on the path of the passionate warrior, ours somewhere down the line threw in the towel and became citizens. Reek and Inhale are alike in numerous ways, one being ability. For five minutes, you'll be able to tap into your mother's bloodline and conjure our armor." Soo-Ae responded as she closed her eyes. "Remove the criminal's ancient eyepatch before she is capable of tapping into the artifact's latent destructive potential. This wonderous island and all of the beautiful creatures who inhabit it are on our shoulders. WE will win." Derek told himself with his eyes closed and his body in immense pain as he laid on the ground, hearing Gan Gang Ja's heavy boots inching closer. Derek noticed her looking past him at his cousin. "Her name is Soo-Ae, she does that when she's terrified, she doesn't fight." Derek assured the Degenerate pirate. "Typical of women, by now your family is getting overwhelmed by my dead men and held in their cages. I'll say it for the last time, nobody stops me from getting what I want, I'm going to have fun with you, my young stud, and your weird family. Now run into my arms, no need to make this harder than it needs to be for you." Gan Gang Ja threatened as she gestured for him at the end. Derek struggled to, but tried not to let her notice as he picked himself up. "Heh. See, something like that is what I happen to be one of the worst at, you'll have to make me first." Derek responded with a low tone and weak voice. "Unfortunately for you, others call me freaky enough to make your wish here come true." Gan Gang Ja shouted with excitement and a smile. The degenerate drifter of the seas ran and knocked the wind out of Derek. He dropped to the ground, unable to move, his breathing was worsening and becoming more difficult. Gan Gang Ja threw him over her shoulder and began walking away. "Don't worry, prince, at least you tried to be the hero. I'm not unreasonable though." Gan Gang Ja shouted, she smiled with naughty thoughts on her mind as she was halfway to the steps in their grand basement.

As she was meditating on both of her knees, Soo-Ae leaned forward, nose bleeding but she enjoyed the warmth of her hand as she placed it comfortably on her heart, and with the other hand she held onto her hat with two of her fingers. Halfway up the stairs of their enormous and ancient basement, Gan Gang Ja noticed the fires lighting the torches changed to a beige and as earlier beige colored ashes gracefully fell from above her. The degenerate pirate's heart began to race but before she got the chance to flee from the rainfall of ashes she had assumed to be Sun-Jin's crippling ashes she recovered from five minutes earlier, Derek sent his assailant flying backwards down the steps and himself as he rode her down. As Gan Gang Ja crashed into the ground, Derek mounted on top of her and passionately pounded her face in before she shocked him by grabbing his wrist and tossing him behind her. The degenerate pirate rolled back to her feet, nose bloodied, teeth bloodied but still squaring up. Gan Gang Ja found herself confused by his fancy and charming beige long coat replaced with a beige traditional Korean robe. Derek released a monstrous roar as he felt strength, speed, agility and an unexplainable feeling that he had never felt before part of him. Wasting none of his short timer, dashed towards her, closing the gap she created between them, she attempted a spinning back fist immediately which he ducked and repaid her with an upward elbow to her chin. A middle punch with all of her power from the Degenerate pirate was her next move but the Descendant of Hyun Dea gracefully dodged out of the way then returned her spinning back fist with his own. As she felt it, he took advantage then attempted to knock her down with a panther strike to her throat but she grabbed his hand and head butted him to the floor. He rolled backwards on his feet but she was already flying at him too quick for him to dodge. This time, on top with his back on the ground, she had kept herself from getting frustrated by his skillful evasions of her blows, fist after fist falling into the ground rather than his face, before she decided to stomp and thrust her knees on his chest. She picked him up and with her growing immense strength, performed a German suplex on him. Gan Gang Ja noticed the girl's nose bleeding and recollected witnessing her torture from earlier ceasing after he was attacked. She dashed in for the kill against Soo-Ae, before an arrow came soaring out of the blue and released a force that threw her away. She caught herself spinning away until she landed on her knees. The Degenerate pirate turned around and saw the family sprinting towards her instead of in the cages she prepares for her prisoners. She stood up, took two breaths and allowed them to dash toward her.