Chapter 139: The Last Brother
The battle for Playmore had long since abandoned anything resembling order. Explosions tore through streets and buildings, lightning crawled across the darkened sky, monsters roamed between collapsing structures, Freakers clashed with Royal Guards, and the distant flashes of Savage Power illuminated the city like artificial stars. Every direction carried the sound of destruction....
BOOM!
CRASH!
KRAKOOOM!
...until Playmore itself seemed to have become one enormous battlefield.
Yet, amidst all that chaos, something else was happening.
Something quieter, far more tragic.
The last Royal Guard collapsed onto the broken pavement with a heavy–
THUD!
Its body sliding several meters across the debris before finally coming to a stop. Champagne rolled his shoulder and exhaled slowly, his clothes torn and stained with blood, while Brandon wiped the blood running down from his forehead and glanced toward the distant sector of the city where enormous shockwaves continued to erupt one after another.
Booommm....
"We should help Mardale," Champagne said, his eyes narrowing as another explosion shook the horizon. Every impact sounded like a bomb going off somewhere beyond the ruined buildings.
Brandon followed his gaze and nodded. "If the King keeps getting stronger, Mardale is going to need all the help he can get."
Before either of them could move, however, something dropped from above.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact shattered the ground between them, sending dust and fragments of concrete flying in every direction. Champagne and Brandon immediately jumped backward, weapons ready as the dust cloud slowly dispersed.
A familiar figure stood within it.
Shogun.
His head was lowered, his face concealed beneath the shadows of his clothing, and his body remained completely motionless.
Champagne frowned.
"Weren't you supposed to be fighting Aerin?"
There was no answer. The silence itself felt wrong as Champagne's grip tightened. Something wasn't right.
Then the communications device crackled.
KRRRZZZT!
Aerin's voice suddenly burst through the channel, urgent and unmistakably alarmed.
"Avoid him!"
Champagne's eyes widened. "What?"
"We're fighting Shogun right now!" Aerin shouted. "That's a clone! The real Shogun is somewhere else!"
For a moment, neither Champagne nor Brandon spoke.
Then Champagne's expression changed as the pieces finally connected.
"Ninja techniques."
Brandon nodded slowly. "That explains it."
The figure standing before them still hadn't moved.
It didn't attack and it didn't speak. It simply stood there as though it were waiting for something, listening to a voice that only it could hear.
And somewhere far away from the battlefield, the real Shogun was doing exactly that.
Listening.
* * *
In one of the most damaged sections of Playmore, far beyond the main battlefield and buried beneath the shadow of several ruined buildings, an abandoned convenience store had become a temporary shelter from the war outside.
The roof had partially collapsed. Broken shelves were scattered across the floor, shattered glass covered the entrance, and dust drifted slowly through the air whenever another distant explosion shook the structure.
Shogun stood against one of the remaining walls.
Blood stained his clothes. Dust covered his face. His breathing was uneven, but none of that mattered. Because lying against the wall beside him was Baekho.
His younger brother.
Baekho's breathing was shallow and painful, each breath barely seeming strong enough to reach his lungs. His skin had become unnaturally colour, while faint traces of dragon energy continued to flicker beneath his skin like dying sparks.
The aftermath of Champagne's attack.
'Dragon Energy Poisoning.'
Shogun hasn't seen it before, but he knew exactly what it meant. And that knowledge was worse than the pain itself.
There was no medicine, no healing supplies, and no one nearby who could save him.
His Boss wasn't here.
For the first time in years, Shogun the man who had survived countless battles, the man who is the ninja of the Silver Moon himself and fight enemies from every direction was completely helpless.
He could fight an army, he could assassinate a target, he could survive wounds that would kill ordinary men. But he couldn't save his brother.
Baekho slowly opened his eyes.
Despite his condition, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"You look ugly when you cry."
Shogun immediately wiped his eyes and looked away.
"I'm not crying."
Baekho let out a quiet laugh.
It lasted only a moment before his chest tightened and the laughter turned into a painful cough.
COUGH! COUGH!
A small amount of blood stained his lips.
Shogun's expression hardened as he looked away.
"Don't."
Baekho's voice was barely above a whisper.
Shogun looked back at him. "What?"
"Don't look away."
For several seconds, Shogun didn't move. Then, slowly, he turned his head toward his brother again.
Baekho smiled.
"You always do that."
His voice was weak, but the teasing tone remained.
"When things get difficult."
Shogun clenched his fists.
"You talk too much."
"Yeah."
Baekho gave another weak laugh.
"Probably."
Silence settled over the ruined store.
Outside, the war continued.
BOOM!
BRRRMMMM!
The building trembled.
Somewhere in the distance, someone screamed.
"Uaarrgh!!"
Another explosion followed.
KRAKOOOM!
Yet neither brother moved.
For a brief moment, the entire war felt impossibly far away.
There were no enemies, missions, orders, not even team Silver Moon.
There were only two brothers together in a ruined store.
Baekho slowly turned his eyes toward the broken ceiling.
"You remember when Boss Gyoran found us?"
Shogun remained silent for a moment before nodding.
He remembered.
Three starving children.
No home, no family, and no future.
Then Gyoran had appeared.
He had been little more than another abandoned child himself, yet somehow the four of them had managed to survive together. They stole food when they needed to, slept wherever they could, fought anyone who threatened them, and eventually became strong enough that the world itself learned to fear their name.
The Silver Moon Brothers.
Baekho smiled faintly.
"We were cool."
"We still are," Shogun answered immediately.
Baekho laughed.
The sound was weak, but genuine. Then pain crossed his face again. His body trembled.
Shogun's expression immediately changed.
"Stop talking."
"No."
Baekho shook his head.
"I don't got much time."
Shogun looked away.
"Shut up."
Baekho smiled sadly.
"You know…"
His eyes drifted toward the broken ceiling.
"I always wanted us to do something else."
Shogun frowned.
"What?"
"Anything."
The answer seemed to surprise him.
Baekho continued, his voice becoming quieter with every word.
"Run a restaurant."
Shogun blinked.
"A restaurant?"
"Yeah."
Baekho smiled.
"You cook."
"Mirage handles the customers."
He paused.
"And I eat all the profits."
For the first time in what felt like years, Shogun actually laughed.
A genuine laugh escaped him. It was small, almost broken, but it was real. Then his laughter stopped. Because Baekho's breathing had weakened again.
The smile disappeared from Shogun's face.
His chest tightened.
The sound of Baekho's breathing was becoming quieter.
Far too quiet.
* * *
The communications device suddenly crackled.
KRRRZZZT!
The connection had remained active and Mirage had heard everything.
Every word, laugh, breath, and cough.
At the Dam, Zachia stood motionless.
FFRRRTHL!
Only moments earlier, he had punched Mirage through a building with enough force to send debris raining across the battlefield, yet Mirage was no longer fighting.
He wasn't even looking at Zachia. He was listening to his brother.
Zachia stared at Mirage's expression and something inside him sank.
It wasn't anger, it wasn't hatred, nor was it fear. It was pure, devastating grief.
Then Mirage moved.
SWOOOOOSH!!!
He turned and ran toward Baekho as fast as his body would allow.
Zachia didn't chase him.
He couldn't.
Their communications channel Wasabi hacked was still open, and everyone could hear what was happening.
Champagne.
Brandon.
Aerin.
Wei-Wan.
Fah-jin.
Even Mardale, despite being locked in battle with the King.
Nobody spoke.
For the first time since the battle had begun, the warriors of Playmore stood in silence.
Because this wasn't a battle anymore.
It was a goodbye.
* * *
Baekho's voice became quieter.
"Hey…"
Shogun leaned closer.
"What?"
Baekho smiled.
"Don't let Mirage blame himself."
Shogun's eyes widened.
"Baekho—"
"He always does that."
Baekho gave a weak laugh.
"He carries everything."
His eyes slowly closed.
"Tell him…"
His voice faded until Shogun could barely hear it.
"Tell him it wasn't his fault."
DAAASSHH!!
Across Playmore, Mirage ran.
He jumped across rooftops, smashed through obstacles, and ignored everything standing between him and his brother.
BOOM!
A wall exploded as he crashed through it.
CRASH!
A piece of debris flew behind him.
He didn't slow down.
"BAEKHO!"
People turned as his voice echoed through the streets.
The feared leader of Silver Moon was screaming his brother's name.
"BAEKHO!"
His voice cracked and tears streamed down his face.
Mirage kept running.
Not as a warrior, or a commander, or leader of Silver Moon. But he ran as a brother.
Buildings blurred around him.
SWOOSH!
The battlefield disappeared and the explosions became distant. Everything that had once mattered seemed to fade away, only one thing remained.
Baekho
Every second felt like a knife being driven deeper into his chest.
"BAEKHO!"
He leaped over an entire street.
BOOM!
His feet struck the roof of the opposite building, cracking the surface beneath him.
"BAEKHO!"
His voice echoed through Playmore. Even the monsters seemed to grow quieter. As if the city itself understood that something important was ending.
* * *
Inside the ruined store, Shogun sat motionless. Baekho's hand rested within his. The younger brother's breathing had become dangerously faint.
Shogun stared at him.
"Stay awake."
His voice was barely audible.
Baekho smiled weakly.
"You know…"
His eyes struggled to remain open.
"You're a terrible liar."
Shogun clenched his jaw.
"I said stay awake."
Baekho laughed softly.
"You sound scared."
Shogun lowered his head, for several seconds, he said nothing. Years of discipline, training, and controlling his emotions. None of it mattered anymore.
Baekho's smile softened.
"Don't be."
Silence filled the room.
Then—
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Footsteps.
Fast, violent and desperate.
Shogun's head slowly lifted.
The footsteps grew louder and closer.
BOOM!
The remaining wall of the ruined store exploded inward. Dust erupted through the room.
SWOOSH!
Mirage stumbled through the opening.
"Huff....hufff...huff!"
His clothes were torn, blood covered his body, his breathing was ragged, but none of that mattered.
His eyes immediately found Baekho and his entire world stopped.
"No…"
Mirage rushed forward and dropped to his knees.
"No."
Baekho slowly turned his head a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Hey, Boss."
Mirage grabbed his shoulders.
"No."
His voice trembled.
"No."
Shogun looked away he couldn't watch.
Mirage shook his head desperately.
"You'll be fine."
Baekho laughed weakly.
"Still lying."
Mirage's breathing became uneven.
"You're going to be fine."
"Mirage."
"No."
"Mirage."
"NO!"
For the first time, Mirage looked truly afraid. He's never been afraid of Daito, numerators and of death itself. He was afraid of losing his family.
Baekho slowly raised his trembling hand.
Fwoo....
He placed it against Mirage's face, just as he had done years ago when the three of them were children with nothing in the world except one another.
"You did good."
Mirage froze.
Baekho's voice was barely a whisper.
"You hear me?"
Mirage stared at him.
"You did good."
The Silver Moon leader lowered his head.
His shoulders began to tremble.
Baekho turned his eyes toward Shogun.
"You too."
The ninja didn't answer, he couldn't, his throat had closed.
All the years of discipline and composure that had made Shogun who he was were meaningless in this moment.
Baekho smiled at both of them.
"You guys…"
His voice weakened.
"…are my brothers."
Mirage grabbed his hand.
"You idiot."
A tear fell onto Baekho's arm.
Then another.
Then another.
Mirage was crying openly now, without shame and without restraint, like the child he had once been before the world had forced him to become a monster.
Baekho laughed softly.
"I never got to open that restaurant."
Shogun released a broken chuckle.
Mirage laughed through his tears.
"Yeah."
"You would've eaten everything."
Baekho grinned.
"Exactly."
For a brief moment, the three brothers were together again. Just three children who had once dreamed of having something as simple as a home.
Then the silence returned.
Outside, Playmore continued to burn.
The King still fought Mardale. Champagne still battled across the city. The Freakers still attacked. The Royal Guards still fought. But none of that mattered inside the ruined store.
Because for these three brothers, the entire world had narrowed down to a single room, a single moment, and a single goodbye.
Baekho's eyes began to close as his breathing became lighter.
Mirage immediately noticed.
"Baekho."
"Baekho."
His grip tightened around his brother's hand.
"BAEKHO!"
The younger brother's eyes opened slightly.
Just enough one final time.
He looked at Mirage, then at Shogun.
At his family like his real family.
And smiled.
"See you guys…"
His voice disappeared into a whisper.
"…later."
A final breath escaped his lungs. Then nothing, the hand in Mirage's grasp became still. The breathing stopped and the room stopped.
For a moment, it felt as though the entire world had stopped with him. Mirage stared at Baekho's face.
His fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails pierced his palms.
Blood dripped slowly onto the floor.
Drip.
Drip.
Mirage remained frozen. Unable to accept it, to move nor to think. Then a scream erupted from the ruined store. A scream so raw that it seemed to tear through the city itself.
"BAAAAAAAAAAAEKHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The sound echoed through Playmore.
Champagne stopped fighting. Mardale paused. Aerin lowered her weapon. Even the King turned his head toward the distant city.
Everyone heard it and everyone understood. That wasn't the cry of a villain nor the cry of a hero. It was the cry of a brother who had just lost someone he loved.
For the first time since arriving in Playmore, Mirage forgot about missions and everything.
All that remained was the empty space left behind by his brother. And within that emptiness, something else began to form.
Something that would soon consume the entire city.
Revenge.
to be continued.....