'Brat... what do you think you're doing?' asked Gorgo, trying to sound serious, but his eyes wide with amazement at the boy's stance.
'I don't know...' replied Oliver, his voice trembling but firm. 'All I know is... I'm keeping you away from my cousin.'
Gorgo took a deep breath. For a moment, his gaze remained fixed between Oliver's fists, staring into those eyes that didn't know how to fight, but were still determined to do so.
And that answer... that simple, sincere answer hit him harder than any technique.
"Where is that villain I swear I am? Why... why am I hesitating now?" thought Gorgo, feeling the inner walls of his personality begin to crumble.
'Brat... let's make a deal...' suggested Gorgo, lowering his fists slightly, still observing the unyielding determination of the boy in front of him.
'A deal?'
"I'm not going to kill people unnecessarily anymore. Go. Find a home for yourself and your cousin, a place where you can be safe...' he replied in an unusually calm tone. 'I forgive you, okay? Disappear. I won't follow you..."
'Huh?' Oliver exhaled, still confused. 'But earlier you said you were looking for Master Baldur... why?!'
'You don't need to know that... Just get out of here.'
'The news calls you a murderer... and now you come looking for my master? What kind of joke is this?!' Oliver replied, his fists shaking, his voice filled with fear, his arm still bleeding.
"Brat, I've killed a lot of people. I beg you, please... don't make me add you to the pile of corpses. I already had too many problems with the other grumpy brat. I don't want to have them with you.
'Grumpy? Are you talking about Max?' Oliver asked, between alertness and horror. 'What did you do to him?!'
"I was forced to kill him. He had caused too many problems..." Gorgo replied. But suddenly, he felt a slight pressure on his body, a subtle but suffocating sensation that forced him to be on guard immediately.
He noticed that the boy's eyes widened in surprise, but his eyebrows curved downwards in a frown, as if something dark and deep was emerging from within him.
Gouten, who was also listening, was completely stunned, his eyes wide open.
'What did you say you did?' Oliver asked, his voice strangely calm but devoid of fear.
'Eh...?' Gorgo stammered, taking a step back. What's going on now?
'You killed... my brother?'
'Brother?' Shit! I blew it! thought Gorgo, feeling the tension in the air become suffocating.
Strangely, Oliver took a step forward.
'Uh?' a man exhaled in confusion, rising from his seat, his gaze fixed on the ceiling of a bright white room.
'Did something happen, Mr Bronmir?' asked a young man standing in one corner of the room.
'No, nothing...' I just felt something strange in the air,' he replied, smiling enigmatically. 'Not strange... interesting," he corrected himself.
'Interesting? How so?'
'Something unnatural is happening. Biologically, it's impossible, but it may be about to happen. It's as if the air were turning into earth... or water into fire.' Impossible! But it might happen!
'Why are you speaking so enigmatically?'
'Because I speak with little certainty. Because it hasn't happened yet. I'm not sure. Maybe I'm wrong... but maybe not. Ha, ha, ha... I feel like an idiot talking like this.'
...
Oliver took another step forward, looking at Gorgo. He felt powerless... but he didn't back down.
'I called you "weakling" and I apologise. There's nothing wrong with being weak. We're not all born with the same strengths; maybe you excel at different things, with different abilities. Just... don't torment yourself over stupid things like that...'
Tears rolled down Oliver's cheeks. His gaze, full of frustration, was fixed on Gorgo, who took another step back, visibly confused.
The boy's mind was in that dark space from before, the one where he had managed to visualise both spheres of light.
<< When a Senkayne harbours such intense frustration that it pushes them to the limit, thinking becomes a luxury. The body then enters a state of lucidity: an instinctive response in which everything boils down to one unshakeable desire... to fulfil the last goal that the mind managed to formulate before disconnecting. >>
Oliver's eyes focused on the spheres. His vision detected how the darkness began to dissipate little by little, revealing a light grey environment, although not quite reaching absolute white.
<< For some reason, this time lucidity acted differently... retaining its reasoning. >>
The golden sphere slowly approached Oliver. It allowed itself to be taken by his hands, merging with him. The other sphere, however, simply moved away.
<< Oliver Songoku is a perfect hybrid: he is no more Senkayne than Terrano, nor more Terrano than Senkayne. A 50% accuracy in each gene. Which, instead of making things easier for him, only complicated the development of both sides. >>
'Lucidity awakened a Zenkay, and that Zenkay caused both lineages to join hands... and cling to Oliver. They allowed, for the first time, collaboration.'
'Oliver's Senkayne potential had awakened. The boy had just found half of his quest.'
Oliver's first move was noticeable: a circular swing to the left, followed by another to the right. A perfectly executed sequence that completely confused Gorgo.
'Why is this brat using my own boxing style to perfection?!' thought the big man, incredulous.
Gorgo threw a punch, but Oliver dodged it with agility, moving with a turn to the right. Then he delivered a circular kick to the side of his leg. Gorgo's knee hit the ground, and he barely had time to see the boy approach and land a left hook on his nose, causing him to fall back.
Oliver took a firm stance and delivered a third blow, which this time was blocked by Gorgo's forearms. However, the power was such — charged with a perfectly released kime — that the impact dragged Gorgo across the ground until his back collided violently with a nearby log.
'What the hell is going on?' exclaimed Gorgo, his face contorted with confusion. 'Since when does this brat know how to box?!'
Oliver, as he advanced steadily towards his enemy, thought silently:
'I'm not afraid anymore... what happened to me?...'
His body felt numb, his breathing heavy and his muscles tired, but he also felt a fire burning inside him.
'I want to beat him up,' he thought with contained fury, without stopping his advance.
Drops of blood hit the ground, and Oliver remained standing. Watching as Gorgo got back on his feet....
'Just look...'
'What's going on?'
'I can see how a 6-year-old boy is managing to intimidate an adult...' he replied, looking up at the ceiling.
'It sounds impossible...'
'He's not human...'
'That explains it...'
'Partly, yes, but I'm more surprised by the boy's heartbeat...'
'You don't believe what?'
'I said something unnatural is going on...'
'But he's not human... it's impossible for him to become one...'
'He hasn't shown any signs of being one, yet...' he interrupts him. 'But it's curious, he just heard that his brother died, and the first thing he thinks about is defeating the man. He's not acting out of hatred, he's just angry... it's incredible that a child would react like that!'
'I would have wanted to kill him...'
'Do you see why I'm surprised?' he asks with a laugh...
'Now things are clearer... this is payment for my sin...' thought Gorgo, looking seriously at Oliver, while the boy held his gaze with the same intensity.
"This brat isn't so different from me... he does what he does because something motivated him to be better. I wanted to help Hector with his debts, and he protects his cousin... we are basic beings facing a mirror...
'Becoming so pensive, comparing myself to this boy, takes away all my motivation to fight...' he confesses to himself. 'I'll end this quickly so I can be free...'
'If he beats me here, maybe our paths will become the same... I must differentiate him... Maybe I'm a bastard for thinking that way... Maybe I'll help him, lose here so he doesn't take the same path as me...'
Gorgo made a sudden move, but it only caused Oliver to move to his side, imitating Gouten's movement and executing the same blow that was performed against that tree.
'What would have happened if Richarzon had beaten me in that fight? Would I have fallen as low as I am now?' Gorgo reflected, as his hand instinctively grabbed Oliver. He threw him violently against a tree, although he knew he had held back the blow at the last moment.
'I'm pathetic as a villain...' he said to himself, looking at his own hand.
'Aren't you ashamed to kill?' Oliver shouted, pulling his head away from the trunk. Although the impact had been softened, the damage was still there: a hot line of blood ran down his forehead to his cheek.
The big man swallowed hard as he watched the boy run towards him without a hint of fear or hesitation.
'Come on, Gorgo... you don't feel pain, and his attacks don't activate your serum... you have the upper hand. Don't lose now...' he said to himself, throwing a punch.
Oliver dodged it nimbly, jumping to one side. He landed firmly and, with a fluid sequence of movements, propelled himself forward, executing a precise stance. His fist shot out, loaded with kime, and embedded itself in Gorgo's right side, causing him to stagger a few inches.
The big man quickly shook his arm to that side, forcing Oliver to retreat. He struck the ground hard, causing a tremor that made the boy stumble, and took the opportunity to kick him even further away.
Oliver rolled on the ground, repositioned himself, and stretched out his hands decisively. He tried once again to imitate Gouten, but this time... not to fight hand-to-hand, but to launch an energy attack.
'It's incredible how a six-year-old boy can deduce energy projection through Shotokan kime. Just by imitation, he was able to channel that energy, project it into his arms... and without knowing it, launch his first Ki attack without anyone explaining how to do it.'
The energy sphere veered off into the sky without explanation. Oliver had not figured out how to maintain the trajectory of his attack. That mistake cost him dearly: Gorgo reacted quickly and hit him on the shoulder, dragging him to one side with a simple knuckle.
Oliver managed to stay on his feet, but his arm hung limply. He could barely move it. Before he could process it, Gorgo kicked him, sending him to the ground and making him cough dryly from the impact.
'Don't get up again...' Gorgo ordered firmly.
But the boy's hand clung to the bark of the nearest tree. He pushed himself up with effort to get back on his feet. His body was shaking. The Zenkay's lucidity was over. Oliver had reached his limit. He had given everything.
'Damn... you...' he muttered between gasps, crawling along the side of the trunk. He looked up... and all he saw was Gorgo's dark silhouette and his fist approaching his face.
He closed his eyes tightly, clenching his teeth... but he felt no pain.
Only a light breeze brushed his skin.
'It's over...' whispered Gorgo, gently touching his forehead with two fingers.
The boy fell backwards slowly, almost as if he had been laid down.
"I repeat... don't get up.
'When I fought Richarzon, I beat him... and lost everything. Hopefully, with this defeat, the brat will win everything... that he'll never suffer a crushing defeat.'
'Damn... I'm still weak... I'm still a failure... I couldn't even grab one of those spheres... and I achieved nothing...' Oliver muttered, frustrated, trying to stand up.
Gorgo managed to hear him. Turning to look at him, confused and somewhat pitying:
'Weak? Brat, what you're saying is surreal. Who the hell told you you're weak?' asked Gorgo, letting himself fall back, sitting down.
'Eh? What are you doing?'
'I quit.' I'm tired of this... so I'm going to rest a bit and then I'm out of here,' Gorgo confessed, his voice deep but calm. 'Tell me... who was it that called you weak?"
Oliver, staggering, finally managed to stand up, holding his bloody shoulder. And with a voice full of pain and anger, he replied:
'My brother...'
Gorgo opened his eyes, surprised by the answer. He felt the emotional weight of those words pierce his chest.
'I'm so sorry...' he said, looking down guiltily. 'My plan... and my boss... forced me to kill him. But deep down, I wanted to find another way... something less cowardly...'
'Who is your boss?' asked Oliver, squeezing his shoulder tightly, holding back the pain.
'I won't tell you.' I don't want you to ruin your life looking for him. I don't want you to carry a revenge complex because of my decisions..."
'What do you take me for?' Oliver replied harshly.
Gorgo's eyes widened, completely taken aback by the boy's maturity.
'I could have beaten him... but my honour vanished like dust in the wind...' thought Gorgo, letting out a slight laugh. 'I hope that, with this defeat, I can have a more satisfying victory in the future...'
"I don't understand why your brother called you weak... But if it's any consolation, I think he felt differently...
Because he was the one who gave me the most trouble.
But you... you really gave me trouble.
'Explain to me... how can a man who spread terror throughout the city give up now?'
'A path of bad decisions... that one day fall on your table as if they were the bill you have to pay,' Gorgo replied in a grave voice. "I have a bad history... that led me to make reckless decisions. Never let yourself fall like that, boy... swear to me...
'Master Baldur says that the past does not define a person's choices,' Oliver replied, his teeth clenched. 'Don't justify your disgusting actions with what you've been through...'
"Boy... I already feel like shit. Please... stop humiliating me... I understand that you are morally superior...
'What I want is for you to tell me why your plan led you to kill my brother! That's what matters to me!'
'Unbelievable...' murmured a voice that made both Oliver and Gorgo turn their gaze in the same direction.
Max was standing, held by the shoulders by Leonel and Baldur, watching the scene in amazement.
'You're alive... Partly it's a relief... and partly, you're so fucking lucky,' Gorgo commented, while Oliver's eyes filled with a glimmer of contained relief.
'It wasn't luck...' Max replied, his voice somewhat subdued. 'They injected me with a liquid to counteract the sedative that your idiot partner gave me. I was able to wake up, but my body feels heavy... and I have this damn dream...'
'Oliver, how are you feeling?' Baldur asked, holding Max by his left shoulder.
'I'm fine... I can stand up. But Gouten could barely move...'
'But you're bleeding, you idiot...' muttered Gouten, managing to sit up with the help of a nearby tree.
'I'm surprised, Oliver... I'm proud to see that you managed to defeat Gorgo...'
'I didn't defeat him...' interrupted Oliver, lowering his gaze. I lost... he just sat down and gave up.
'I see...' Max muttered, forcing his body to take a step forward.
With effort, he let go of Baldur's arm and walked with difficulty until he was in front of Gorgo.
He raised his fist, and it began to emanate energy, vibrating with a slight hum as he held it up. His face, however, was completely indifferent.
'Last words?'
A hand rested on Max's shoulder, stopping him just as he was about to throw his fist.
'Didn't you hear Oliver? He said he "gave up",' Baldur reminded him calmly but firmly. We don't do that here, Max... That would be the dirtiest thing we could do.
'But he killed a lot of people... he deserves punishment...' Max replied, his fist still trembling.
'Yes... but not by your hand, or mine, or Oliver's...' Baldur replied. 'He'll pay, but as he should.'
'I'm going to call the police,' announced Leonel, already taking out his mobile phone.
'Then I'm going to hide...' murmured Max, lowering his arm and walking away towards his hut. 'They want to arrest me too...'
'Leo... I'm counting on you.' I have to tend to my students' wounds," Baldur asked, taking the children by the hand to guide them towards the house.
Gorgo and Leo were left alone, exchanging silent glances.
'If you move... I'll kill you,' Leonel warned him, without stopping to dial the number.
'Relax... I got the message,' replied Gorgo, with no intention of resisting.
After finishing the call, Leonel turned his gaze back to Gorgo.
'You're lucky, kid...' he said, drawing his knife with a sharp movement.
'In my country, they would have beaten you to a pulp by now. They would have even lynched you... They're very flexible here,' he finished, letting out an uncomfortable laugh, heavy with tension.
'I deserve it...' admitted Gorgo, without looking up.
Leonel slowly looked away when he heard the sound of patrol cars approaching in the distance.
'Can I tell you something?'
'Go ahead,' replied Gorgo, turning his head slightly.
'It gives me peace to know that it's all over... My actions began to become contradictory even to myself. I thought that being a feared monster would make me feel great... but it gives me peace to know that there is nothing left to force me to continue down this path.'
'What you're saying makes me sick...' Leonel blurted out, frowning.
'I don't mean what you think. I don't get satisfaction from killing so many people, it just disgusts me...' confessed Gorgo, his eyes downcast. "It gives me peace to know that I don't have to do it anymore, that there's nothing forcing me to continue down that path. And I'll pay for my crimes as I should... life imprisonment or the death penalty... I don't care either way.
'Wish those brats luck for me... I hope they do well...'...
'He lost, but he won... it's complicated to understand, but it sounds poetic,' Bronmir commented, getting up from his seat and cracking his neck.
'And?'
'It's simple... the boy is pure of heart. At no point did he have the intention to kill. He doesn't seem to be six years old... his morals are so pure that I think it makes him worthy of the form,' he said with a nostalgic smile. 'We just have to wait for him to be born... Oliver Songoku, an angel from another world... Ha, ha! It sounds beautiful...'
'I hope you won't be disappointed when the child falls into darkness... sir, he's just a six-year-old boy.'
'One who fought tooth and nail against a murderer,' added Bronmir, with a more serious smile. 'Want to bet, Adam?'
'Bet what in a place like this?' replied the young man, pointing to his surroundings.
'If he completes his training, you'll take a holiday.'
'How annoying...' sighed Adam. 'But if I win... you won't use the observatory for two days.'
'Only two?'
'You spend all your time in here, but it's also important that you're here... I can't ask for much more...'