Chapter 48: Shattered Pride
Chapter 48: Shattered Pride
Ruok watched the broken bodies of Moon and Kai, collapsed and bloodied on the cold ground. His lips curled into a deranged grin.
And then he laughed.
Not a chuckle.
Not even a madman's giggle.
But the wild, ugly kind that echoed off the silent walls—like a beast mocking its prey after a long, satisfying hunt.
> "HahahahHAHAHAHA!
You two punks really thought… you could kill me?"
His voice cracked with joy, veins bulging on his neck as he stomped closer, each step sending small tremors through the cracked floor beneath his feet. His boots squished in puddles of blood—their blood—and left a trail of dark red behind him.
He stood over them like a devil admiring his artwork.
> "BahahaHA!
"Looking at the state you two are in, I just can't stop laughing!"
His grin widened unnaturally, cheeks twitching, teeth bared like a predator savoring the kill.
"What, even your damn daddy could show up here…
And he still wouldn't be able to touch a hair on my head."
He spat near Moon's face, the saliva mixing with the dirt and blood.
"Look at you now.
Reduced to this? Crawling worms who dared to touch the sun."
He crouched beside them, voice now dipping into a whisper—the venom kind.
> "You underestimated me.
But worse than that… you overestimated yourselves."
His fingers gripped Moon's jaw, lifting his bloodied face. Moon's eye twitched, barely open, the fire inside him flickering like a dying ember.
> "Where's that arrogance now, huh? That defiance in your eyes?
Gone? Just like your chances of walking out alive."
He dropped Moon's head with a thud and turned to Kai.
> "And you, little strategist. Always thinking, always planning.
But you forgot one thing…"
He leaned close, whispering into Kai's ear,
"Monsters like me don't follow logic."
With a sudden burst, Ruok stood and stretched his arms wide—soaked in their blood, bathed in his own twisted glory.
> "You're not heroes. You're not warriors.
You're just kids pretending to be legends."
His laughter returned, louder than before—echoing off the stone, bouncing into the silence, taunting even the shadows.
And then—he stomped hard on Kai's hand, the crunch of bone breaking through the air.
Kai didn't scream.
He just exhaled sharply, blood dribbling from the side of his mouth, eyes staring upward… not in fear.
But in something deeper.
Hate.
Kai winced at the sound—Ruok's words cut deeper than the wounds on his flesh. He turned his head, eyes barely open, and glanced at Moon.
Moon lay still. His face swollen, blood trailing from the corner of his lip. His body—bruised, broken, bent—barely resembled the brother he knew. He looked less like a warrior and more like… mashed potatoes dumped on the floor.
Something inside Kai snapped.
Not anger.
Not pride.
Just a silent flame.
A resolve.
He tried to move—to get up—but his muscles screamed in refusal. His body betrayed him.
Again.
He clenched his fists. And in that moment, a tear rolled down his cheek. Silent. Heavy.
His chest heaved with helplessness. Shame. Bitterness.
> "One day… I'll be the strongest being alive,"
"So I never have to witness this again."
His gaze shifted to Ruok. That bastard… had barely a scratch. While he and Moon looked like trash picked up from a battlefield.
Kai's lips twisted—not in anger, but in cruel mockery of himself.
A smirk meant only for him.
Then—
A calm voice sliced through the thick silence like a blade dipped in honey and poison.
> "Tell me your names,"
Tom asked casually, his tone smooth, conversational—like they were old friends catching up over dinner.
He even smiled, faintly, almost warmly.
But in that smile was something... off.
Not kindness. Not cruelty.
Just curiosity.
Detached. Clinical.
Like a surgeon admiring a fresh corpse before making the first cut.
Kai coughed, a dry rasp laced with blood. He was still on the ground, barely holding himself up on one trembling elbow. His entire body screamed in pain—muscles torn, ribs cracked, pride shattered into dust.
He didn't want to answer.
But he did.
Barely audible, more breath than voice—
> "Kai."
Tom's eyes lit up slightly. He nodded, as if committing the name to memory.
> "Nice name,"
he said softly. And it sounded… sincere.
Which somehow made it even worse.
Then he turned his gaze to the motionless figure nearby—Moon, lying face-down in a pool of blood, the black fabric of his shirt soaked through, clinging to his back like a burial shroud.
Tom pointed.
> "And that black shirt?"
His finger didn't shake. His voice didn't tremble.
But his eyes glinted.
Kai swallowed hard "Moon,"
he muttered.
Tom's smile twitched wider.
Not mockingly. Not gleefully.
Just… knowingly.
> "You know," he said, standing up straight and sliding his hands into his coat pockets,
"I've seen warriors—dozens of them. Talents. Geniuses. Prodigies born with blessings carved into their bones."
He looked between the two, almost admiring the mess they were in.
> "But this… this is rare.
To see this level of potential… at just Fighter level?"
He gave a soft whistle.
> "It's like finding a nuclear core inside a rusted box."
Tom walked a slow around them now, like a wolf sniffing around prey it had already mauled.
> "But you know what the problem is?"
He leaned down near Kai's face again, voice suddenly quieter.
"Potential is just… theory.
Without control, without discipline—it's nothing."
He flicked Kai's forehead lightly. Not hard enough to hurt.
But hard enough to humiliate.
> "You two were born to do something great.
But right now? You're not great.
You're just... broken."
He stood up again, taking one last look at Moon's limp figure.
> "Still... I'm curious."
He turned, hands still in his pockets, walking away like a man leaving an art exhibit he wasn't finished with yet.
> "Let's see if either of you can still crawl… when I come back."
He paused. His eyes softened a bit.
> "Moon… he's incredibly durable. And your precision, Kai… exceptional."
Ruok, who had been skipping around like a crazed monkey, suddenly stopped in his tracks. Tom's words hit him like cold water.
> "Wait… what?" Ruok muttered. "You're thinking of letting them live?"
His pupils shrunk. Rage exploded through him.
> "You… you know what you're saying!? If they escape, I'm DEAD! DEAD!!"
And without warning, Ruok leapt onto Tom's massive 8-foot frame, screaming like a child denied a toy.
Tom didn't flinch.
Instead, he raised one palm, pressed it against Ruok's chest—
—and pushed.
A single, effortless shove.
Ruok went flying backward like a ragdoll, landing flat with a crack, breath knocked out of him.
> "Watch your hands, mutt," Tom said calmly, not even turning around.
Then, Tom turned back to Kai and Moon.
His expression hadn't changed—still that faint, unreadable smile—but his body language had shifted. He seemed almost… gentle now.
He reached out one hand, slowly. Casually. As if reaching to pet a wounded animal.
From his palm, a soft green aura bloomed into existence. It shimmered faintly—warm, almost holy, like sunlight filtering through spring leaves. The light didn't hum with power… it whispered with calm.
The aura drifted down—thin wisps of emerald mist—descending over the twins' mangled forms.
And then, it began.
The pain evaporated.
The bruises receded, bloodstains faded. Deep gashes knitted themselves closed, and cracked ribs realigned with soft pops, like a jigsaw puzzle gently snapping into place. Dislocated joints shifted smoothly. Tension fled from their limbs like bad dreams chased by dawn.
Kai gasped, his eyes fluttering open wider. His fingers flexed.
There was no pain. No ache. No lingering stiffness.
It felt like waking up after a nightmare… and not remembering how real the fear was until it vanished.
> "A… healing element?"
he whispered in disbelief.
His voice trembled—not from fear—but from the sheer absurdity of what he'd just realized.
His eyes snapped to Tom's retreating figure, glowing palm still slightly lit.
> "This whole time…"
Kai's jaw clenched, his brain trying to make sense of the impossibility.
"…we were being beaten by someone using the weakest combat element?"
Tom paused in mid-step. Just for a heartbeat.
Then he slowly turned his head, casting a glance over his shoulder.
> "Weakest?"
he echoed softly—no anger in his voice, no sarcasm. Just amusement.
The kind that made your stomach drop.
> "You're still thinking like a textbook."
He turned fully now, walking slowly back toward them, fingers flexing casually.
> "Healing isn't weak. It's control."
His tone darkened—not louder, but deeper. More anchored.
> "You think I needed fire to burn you?
Lightning to strike you down?
Shadow to suffocate you?"
He raised his hand again, and the green light flickered once more.
> "No. I simply chose not to let you die… yet."
He crouched beside Kai again, his eyes boring in—calm, focused, unblinking.
> "And trust me," he added softly, voice like a scalpel against the soul,
"it takes far more power to stop death than to deliver it."
Moon stirred beside him, eyes fluttering as consciousness returned.
Tom stood once again.
> "Now rest.
Because the next time we meet…"
He glanced down at his hand, closing it into a fist.
"…I won't be healing you."
And with that, the green light vanished.
And so did he.
Leaving the twins on the blood-soaked ground—healed in body, but more broken in spirit than ever before.
Tom didn't deny it. He just chuckled.
Kai couldn't tell if it made him feel better or worse.
Then Tom looked at the crumpled body of Ruok lying unconscious in the dirt.
> "As for this clown…"
He stepped aside, giving Kai a knowing glance.
> "I'll leave him to you."
To be continued…