CHAPTER 22: SETH RONDO (2)

Seth stood frozen, confusion flooding his mind. He didn’t understand what was happening, why the world around him seemed to halt. Everything had slowed, warped, as if time itself was dragging.

Everything except him.

He could saw his father’s furious face, twisted in rage, charging toward Shin who was barely conscious, lying helplessly on the cold, cracked concrete.

His body still trembled at the sight before him, overwhelmed by fear and helplessness. But he knew one thing.

The only one left standing right now was the boy who once reached out to him, the boy who became their leader, the boy who became his first friend.

And that person is about to be annihilated by his own father.

Seth’s eyes glanced to the ground as he saw two pebbles lay just in front of his foot. He couldn’t bring himself to charge at his father. Not yet. Not like this.

So, with a trembling hand, he picked up one of the pebbles and threw it.

The hit was sharp and clean as green aura came with it.

Huh?

The pebble pierced through his father’s right tricep like a bullet.

"Argh!!" his father roared, staggering slightly as the pain jolted through him.

He turned sharply toward the source as he found the one person he hadn’t expected to defy him.

His own son.

"You brat!" his father yelled, dashing toward him with a wild core energy infused punch.

Seconds ago, that speed would’ve been impossible to react to. But now....

Why does he look so slow?

Seth sidestepped the punch and flipped backward just in time to avoid a wide, sweeping kick.

"You little kid! You awakened, huh? I guess I’m not as bad a father after all," his father muttered.

Seth kept dodging. He couldn’t find it in him to strike back even when he saw an opening. His body acted on its own. Evading, weaving, and surviving. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt him. After all, he was still his father.

Still, he saw it now. His father wasn’t a good fighter. He was just strong. Just awakened. And in a city like Veltrax Haven, that alone had made him untouchable.

If Shin had awakened. Seth clenched his fists. He would’ve been unstoppable.

The fight dragged on for minutes. But in each passing second, his father’s attacks grew sharper. More violent. More lethal.

Seth’s mind, once sharp and focused, now felt like it was being pulled underwater. His limbs ached. His heartbeat slowed. His entire body screamed for rest. His perception, the world that once slowed around him, was now catching up. And he was slipping.

From across the battlefield, Shin crawled weakly.

Blood leaked from his mouth as he lifted his gaze, just barely. His blurry eyes caught the sight of Seth dodging blow after blow.

How’s he doing that? Shin wondered. Did he really awaken?

A small smile flickered on his bloodied lips.

He’s always been capable. I guess this time he’s saving me.

And with that thought, Shin coughed out more blood, but his eyes didn’t leave Seth.

The fierce fight raged on while Shin watched the whole thing, laying on the ground, helpless.

Then a punch grazed Seth’s cheek as he barely managed to dodge it. But what he didn’t expect...

BOOM!

An axe kick came crashing down from above, slamming into him with brutal force. His head snapped downward, and his body slammed into the cold, hard concrete.

His vision blurred. The world around him spun violently as a throbbing pain took hold of his skull.

Why is my father like this? He wasn’t like this before, right? When did he join a syndicate? Or is he even part of it? No, he’s leading it. The Black Order. Since when did he awaken? Did he, did he ever even see me as his son?

Seth’s thoughts spiraled, drowning in pain and confusion. He no longer had the will to fight so he just gave up and waited for the decisive blow.

Meanwhile, his father, his own kin, had completely lost control. Frustration twisted his expression into madness. His eyes were now white with rage and almost no pupils in sight.

He didn’t even recognize the boy beneath him as his own son anymore.

Seth lay still on the ground, unable to move as his father raised his right foot. A pale yellow aura cloaked his heel as it glowed ominously.

It was the decisive blow. The killing strike.

So this is it? The man who brought me into this world will be the one to take me out of it. I guess that has a nice ring to it.

Seth smiled bitterly. Those last two years with Shin and the guys, they were fun.

I’m sorry. I’ll be joining you all now.

The heel came down.....But before it could reach Seth.....

BOOM!

A violet flash streaked across the battlefield, and Seth’s father was sent flying, crashing into a nearby car with a loud bang.

Seth’s blurry eyes widened.

Wha...?

From the smoke and dust, a figure emerged, glowing in a violent and pulsing violet aura.

"Shin?" Seth whispered.

It was him. Covered in blood and bruises but was standing upright.

Shin charged without hesitation. He grabbed Seth’s father by the neck and slammed him into the side of the car. Gravity rippled from his arm, pinning the man down with overwhelming force.

Then came the fists. Each punch landed like a cannon blast. Over and over again, Shin pounded him as fury and rage blazed in his eyes. The man who had once overpowered them all could now do nothing but curl up in defense and roar in anguish against Shin’s barrage of attacks.

Seth watched through his hazy eyes.

He’s... furious.

And for the first time in his life, Seth saw what true rage looked like. Not born out of hatred, but out of love.

Shin continued pounding hard.

His fists crashed down again and again, relentless, furious, trembling with the weight of his empty and furious heart. He was conscious, completely aware of what he was doing. But inside, his soul was burning.

He had awakened. The surge of power was overwhelming, coursing through his every nerve like lightning. At that very moment, he didn’t know what it was. But one thing was clear. He now had the power to protect.

"I’ll end this!" he yelled as his eyes flared with violet aura. "I won’t let you take my only friend left!"

The fight was one sided as the ground shook with every strike. Blow after blow, he was pushing Seth’s father back.

But slowly, his punches began to weaken.

He wasn’t ready. He hadn’t mastered this newly acquired power yet. His body wasn’t used to channeling it. His Drive Core leaked energy uncontrollably, and the pain in his chest began to throb harder with each passing second.

Across from him, Seth’s father was battered, bruised, and bloodied. But he grinned.

He could feel it. The storm of attacks was weakening.

Shin’s attacks, once heavy and relentless, were now fading, losing their strength and weight. And despite the damage he took, Seth’s father still maintained perfect control of his Drive Core, minimizing the damage coming from the blows.

Then....

He countered. A devastating punch followed by a sharp, ruthless kick.

Shin was thrown back like a lump of meat. And just as he landed, a heel crashed into his gut, slamming him into the concrete.

Seth’s father stood over him. His breath was heavy and his body weakened. But he was still standing, still dominant.

His final strike was ready.

Shin coughed blood as he lay on the concrete, unable to move. His fingers wouldn’t twitch as his vision blurred.

Then he looked to his side and saw him.

Seth.

Weakened. Trembling. Paralyzed by fear.

Of course. Shin thought. Of course he won’t fight back. He’s too kind.

3

He still sees the man in front of him as his father. Even if that man was about to kill him.

Tears spilled from Shin’s eyes, not from fear, not even from pain. But from guilt.

The guilt of failing everyone. Zed. Michael. Seth.

Everyone he swore to protect.

"I’m sorry, guys. I couldn’t do it after all." Shin muttered weakly.

Seth’s father raised his heel, Drive Core energy radiating from his foot.

But just before the final strike.....

BOOM!

A sharp blast pierced the air.

A bullet, no, a pebble, blazing like a green comet that pierced into Seth’s father’s chest.

The green aura twisted like a serpent as it tore through muscle and bone.

The man just stood there, stunned. And then.....

THUD.

He collapsed, lifeless as silence fell across the place.

Seth stood there barely as his knees buckled beneath him and stared blankly at his father’s lifeless body.

Seth was still breathing, still alive, but inside, something had died. His entire body trembled, not from pain, but from the weight of what he had just done.

Moments before it happened, he had a silent war within his own mind.

Will he let his father run wild and kill Shin or stop him, even if it meant becoming the killer himself. And now that the choice had been made, its consequence would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Rain poured from above, as if the clouds themselves mourned the dead laying on the blood-soaked concrete. The war was over. The Black Order had fallen. But so had the Rose.

All that remained were thorns, memories of loss, pain, and the dreams that withered too soon.

Shin lay there, barely conscious, eyes struggling to follow the figure of Seth limping away from the battlefield, away from him, away from the chaos. He could feel it. Seth was running not from the battle, but from the guilt. From himself.

He was convinced everything fell apart because of him and his father. And now, he couldn’t even look Shin in the eye. Shin wanted to stop him. To scream and tell him: "It wasn’t your fault!" That he was the one who led them into this war. That it was his failure. That he had failed to protect the Rose. By forcing him to make a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

But his body refused to move. His voice was weaker than a whisper, drowned beneath the pouring rain.

"Seth... it wasn’t your fault!"

That was the last time Shin saw Seth, until they reunited again in ZEAL.

But even then, nothing was the same.

Seth avoided Shin. And Shin avoided Seth. Each of them carrying the same weight.

Each blaming themselves for the tragedy that still echoed within their hearts.

—---------------

Seth stood firm, eyes locked onto the figure before him. Gray’s Core Release still raged as hammer-shaped auras continued to slam into the ground in waves of raw destruction.

But to Seth, everything was moving in slow motion. Each impact. Each flare of Drive energy. He could see through it all.

Then, he shifted his gaze just briefly toward Kaela. A faint glimmer of corrupted Drive energy flickered on her collarbone, the one left behind by Grin.

Seth flicked a small pebble infused with his aura that ripped through the air sharp and clean, shattering it.

"Now they can’t track us." Seth whispered.

He turned back to Gray, calm and unshaken. His green aura was dense and quiet, wrapping around him like a storm waiting to break.

"Don’t blame me if I go too hard on you," he muttered. "I’ll end this quickly. I do have people to save, after all."

Slowly, he walked toward the hammer-wielding Gray. One of the three saints. An enemy strong enough to be the top dogs of the Smileys.

But still, he pushed forward, not with fear. But with great resolve born from pain.