Chapter 15

In a dark city shrouded in mystery, the outlines of everything were blurred. The buildings appeared like specters looming on the horizon, and the people moved like silent shadows, lost in a thick fog that choked visibility. The atmosphere was suffocating, with eerie whispers echoing in the air, as if the city itself was breathing in fear. Amid this gloom, Sbyam and Brylo stood face to face, surrounded by a crowd of faceless figures that seemed like a formless backdrop to their confrontation.

Sbyam spoke with restrained anger, his tone sharp yet trembling with concealed disappointment:

"Do you really intend to leave?!"

Brylo looked back at him coldly, his eyes icy and devoid of warmth:

"Yes!"

Sbyam’s jaw clenched, and his hand trembled as though he was struggling to contain his fury. His voice rose, growing sharper:

"But you know that’s impossible?!"

Brylo laughed sarcastically, his expression tinged with irritation as he raised an eyebrow in defiance:

"Oh, your arrogance! You’re telling me that while you’re the one who can do it?!"

The words struck Sbyam like a slap. Disappointment flickered in his eyes but quickly disappeared behind a mask of anger. His gaze burned with the flames of betrayal as he stared at Brylo, who remained as unmoving as a rock, glaring back with the same icy demeanor, as if they were nothing more than shadows locked in an ancient struggle.

Brylo stepped forward, breaking the silence that threatened to swallow them both, and spoke in a voice calm yet weighted enough to crush the air around them:

"Why are you the strongest? Are you the strongest because you’ve always been Sbyam Brius? Or did you become Sbyam Brius because you could only ever be the strongest?"

Sbyam froze for a moment, the words piercing into his depths without warning. His eyes widened slightly, but the anger within him refused to succumb to the shock. His fists tightened, and his chest heaved as though he was searching for a response that could erase the sting of those words.

Brylo, meanwhile, turned away calmly, his dark cloak swaying lightly with a faint breeze. He walked away slowly, as if time itself had frozen around him, leaving behind a trail of cold and silence. Sbyam remained where he stood, staring at Brylo’s back, paralyzed, drowning in his conflicted thoughts.

The city around them seemed to breathe with the tension of the moment, and the shadows in the crowd swayed as if affected by the gravity of the scene. Everything suggested that this encounter was not a mere fleeting clash but the beginning of a profound fracture between them.

Sbyam remained there, rooted in place, haunted by the echo of Brylo's words reverberating within his chest, leaving behind a sense of betrayal and helplessness he had never known before.

---

In the present, Sbyam stood motionless like a statue, staring blankly at the ground, as if trying to gather the fragments of his thoughts amid the whirlwind of his memories. The words Brylo had spoken in the past still echoed in his mind, a resonance that refused to fade. His face was an unyielding mask, revealing nothing, but his hollow eyes bore the weight of countless invisible emotions.

Moryo approached slowly, his steps cautious as though he feared disturbing the silence surrounding his mentor. He whispered hesitantly:

"Master...?"

Sbyam did not raise his eyes, as if Moryo's voice was too distant to reach his reality. Nearby, Beth stood with a mocking expression, his features twisted into a sneer as he spoke in a harsh tone:

"What happened to your arrogance? Are you scared now?"

Before receiving an answer, Beth's communicator rang. He quickly fiddled with it and answered the call. A rough voice emerged from the other end—it was Campeis, speaking in an excited tone:

"The mission is complete! We’ve secured the crystal orb! We’re waiting for you in the cave beneath the castle!"

Beth raised an eyebrow with slight suspicion as he replied:

"We? Is Darwin alive?"

Campeis’s response came swiftly but with a note of tension:

"Yes, but… he lost an arm!"

Beth smirked with a crooked grin, his eyes showing contempt as he replied coldly:

"Then… go ahead!"

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A brief silence followed before Campeis shouted in astonishment:

"What?!"

Beth responded with an authoritative tone filled with defiance:

"I’ll settle things here and return to you."

Campeis sighed reluctantly but eventually said:

"Fine, but don’t be late!"

He ended the call while Moryo continued to gaze at Beth, his mind swirling with unease. Something about Beth's behavior unsettled him, as if everything around them was on the verge of exploding.

Beth turned his gaze toward Sbyam, his tone growing harsher and more aggressive, as if sparks flew from his words:

"Either I die… or you do! So, let’s fight and destroy everything in our path!"

But Sbyam did not move. He remained staring at the ground, seemingly indifferent to everything happening around him. His frozen expression and apathy suggested that his world was sealed off, and he was lost in his depths, far from this reality.

Beth took a step closer, his voice rising in anger:

"Do you hear me? Or are you now just an empty shell?!"

Yet, Sbyam remained still. His stillness was like the calm before a storm, hinting at something dangerous about to erupt. Moryo’s eyes were fixed on the scene, his anxious features reflecting a sense that the next moment would only bring catastrophe.

---

In another corner of the arena, where silence and stillness reigned, and death loomed in the air, Veb lay on his stomach. His body was drenched in blood that seeped beneath him, forming a dark crimson pool that foretold his demise. His breaths were heavy, mingled with faint gasps. His half-closed eyes stared into the void, and his face reflected an unbearable pain.

He murmured to himself in a voice barely audible, as if addressing his fading shadow:

"Ah..."

He took another deep breath before weakly asking, a weight crushing his spirit:

"Am I... going to die?"

A deep sense of helplessness overwhelmed him, and the echoes of his words reverberated inside his mind:

"I’m drained... no, I’m exhausted!"

Slowly, his heavy eyelids began to close, surrendering to the exhaustion consuming his body and soul. A strange darkness began to envelop his world, as if he were diving into an endless abyss.

Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps shattered the deathly silence. It was Laura, sprinting with all her might as though the entire world propelled her toward Veb. When she reached him, she dropped to her knees beside him, her eyes filled with shock and terror.

She froze for a moment, then whispered anxiously:

"No... no... wait, Veb! I’ll save you!"

Her trembling hand reached out and gently touched his back. She closed her eyes, trying to gather all her strength. She said in a shaky voice, carrying a mix of fear and determination:

"Healing Technique!"

Yellow sparks began to emanate from her hand, dancing in the air as if defying death itself. Warmth radiated from her being into Veb’s body, and sweat began to pour down her brow as her hands trembled under the strain.

The sparks gradually seeped into Veb's body, cautiously exploring the wounds that had ravaged him. The process was agonizingly slow, as if time itself paused to witness the moment.

As the sparks spread across Veb’s entire body, they enveloped him in a faint halo, like a protective shield of light. Laura leaned forward, her body trembling under the burden of her ability, her breaths shallow, her face pale.

She muttered weakly, a hint of relief in her tone:

"This... should be enough!"

She slowly withdrew her shaking hands from his body. The yellow glow didn’t fade but continued to encase him, protecting him and proving it was still working to heal him.

With great difficulty, Laura rose to her feet, her eyes fixed cautiously on his body. She had no time to waste. Taking a deep breath, she bent down to lift him. Despite her weakness, she managed to hoist his body with difficulty and began staggering forward.

Every step was a battle against death, but she didn’t stop. Her eyes were filled with determination, her heart screaming:

"I won’t let you die!"

As she trudged on, she didn’t know what awaited her ahead, but one thought burned clearly in her mind: she had to save Veb at any cost, even if it meant sacrificing herself.

---

The scene returned to Sbyam, who remained frozen in place, his body still but his spirit diving deep into the labyrinth of the past. His eyes were fixed on the ground, while words and images relentlessly churned in his mind, as though he were haunted by a ghost from the past.

Suddenly, his reverie was interrupted by a piercing scream. Beth was flying toward him at incredible speed, a manic grin plastered across his face, as if driven by pure madness. The surrounding winds swirled violently around him, reflecting the intensity of the energy he brought.

At the last moment, Moryo leaped in front of Sbyam, his eyes ablaze with determination as he shouted furiously:

"This time, I’ll kill you, you bastard!"

But Sbyam remained motionless behind him, his eyes still locked on the ground as if oblivious to everything around him. A heavy silence enveloped the scene, as though time itself had stopped while Sbyam's mind plunged again into ancient memories.

In one fleeting moment from the past: Sbyam asked his mentor, Sorichi, with desperate features and a despondent voice:

"Master... am I strong?"

Sorichi laughed dryly, his sarcasm cutting deep as he replied:

"Yes! And in a disgusting way!"

In another moment: Brylo and Sbyam were on a tennis court, Brylo spoke with a serious tone:

"The magician was born to protect humans!"

Sbyam retorted with a sardonic smile:

"Are those your ridiculous beliefs?"

Then, a third moment: in a classic restaurant, Risa sat across from him, her warm smile lighting up the place. She said in a gentle voice:

"I know you want to protect me, but I want to be with you, even if it costs me my life."

---

The present abruptly shattered his recollections like a sharp blade. Beth’s voice boomed:

"Come on, monster! Face me!"

Moryo stood in front of him, glaring at Beth with fiery anger. His voice turned into a sharp hiss full of hatred:

"You scum!"

But suddenly, Sbyam began to move forward with slow, deliberate steps, as if detached from everything happening around him. With his hand, he gently pushed Moryo aside and said in an icy tone:

"Let me handle this."

Reluctantly, Moryo stepped back, overcome by tension and worry, but he could do nothing. Sbyam now stood before Beth, his gaze frozen and devoid of any emotion.

Beth sneered wickedly and said:

"So, here you are!"

He raised his right hand, and a black spark began to form in his palm. The surrounding energy trembled violently, the winds growing fierce, swirling around Beth like a small storm. The black spark expanded, becoming a compressed orb of power brimming with rage.

Moryo suddenly shouted:

"I’ll stop it!"

But Sbyam responded in a low yet firm voice:

"Let it."

Moryo hesitated for a moment before replying anxiously:

"But—"

Sbyam cut him off, his tone commanding:

"I said... stop!"

Moryo fell silent, while the spark shot from Beth's hand at tremendous speed, heading directly toward Sbyam and Moryo. Everyone expected a devastating explosion, but something unexpected occurred.

Sbyam raised his hand slowly and confidently. As the spark neared him, it abruptly halted in the air, as if it had struck an invisible barrier. The black spark disintegrated violently, scattering into tiny fragments that spread through the air, leaving scorched marks on the ground.

Beth was stunned, his eyes widening in unprecedented terror. Even Moryo couldn’t believe what he saw, his eyes staring at his master in awe.

Sbyam advanced toward Beth, his steps steady, his expression frozen as if death itself walked before him. Beth began to retreat, sweat dripping down his forehead, his voice trembling:

"You arrogant fool!"

Sbyam stopped before him and slowly raised his finger. A small black spark formed at its tip and shot toward Beth's body at a deliberate pace, carrying with it an aura of annihilation.

When the spark pierced his body, Beth felt a cold sting that instantly transformed into a destructive fire, tearing him apart from the inside. The pain was beyond description, as if the spark were ripping apart every atom of his being.

In a horrifying moment, Beth's body exploded entirely, his blood splattering everywhere. The scene was gruesome, the ground soaked in a sea of blood—no body, no bones, only the remnants of destruction.

Moryo stood frozen, his body paralyzed by shock, while Sbyam remained standing, gazing at the blood-soaked ground with lethal calm, as if nothing had mattered to him.

End of Chapter.