CHAPTER 29: BROTHER’S GLARE

"It’s funny." Grin said while trying to prevent himself from laughing. "He was just standing there. Did you really think I wouldn’t kill you guys?"

"You’ve lost it!" Zeishuro yelled. "You’ve let revenge consume you, and now you’ll let the Core Bleed devour what’s left of your existence!"

Without another word, Zeishuro dashed forward, his hand slicing through the air as wind scythes emerged into existence. But before they could strike, Grin vanished, only to reappear right in front of him.

A single counterpunch covered in shadow aura from Grin sent Zeishuro flying through the cathedral walls and out into the open.

"Zeishuro!" Ren shouted as he coughed blood.

He tried to move, but his body refused as every muscle of his screamed in pain. The only one keeping him standing right now was Sora, without her, Ren would’ve been paralyzed on the ground.

Frustration clawed at Ren’s chest. The crushing weight of realization pressed down on him. He had given everything, even a glimpse of his Core Release, and still he couldn’t finish the fight.

Then he looked around him as tears started welling down from his eyes.

Kuro’s lifeless body lay nearby. Zeishuro was laying down on the ground just outside the cathedral. Sora could barely stand. And Miko’s whereabouts were still unknown.

All of it piled onto Ren’s chest until it felt like it might crush him. But despite his heavy frustration, all he could do was scream.

Sora stayed silent, still supporting his weight. She didn’t need to speak, she understood. That same hollow, powerless feeling. After all, she felt it too.

Grin’s body began to twitch, the Core Bleed energy continued surging wildly through him. It looked like he was devouring it, but in truth, the energy was taking him in, nesting itself deep inside his body.

The twitching grew worse. Moments later, Grin’s voice cracked into a scream of pain. Just as Zeishuro had predicted, he was losing control. Or more like, he was being consumed.

A few seconds later, a violent aura of shadow burst out of him, enough to split cracks into the cathedral walls. The air shook. Then, without his will, his Core Release erupted again.

The cathedral warped. Voices whispered in their ears from nowhere. The walls bent inward and outward, shifting in no clear pattern.

But the worst part was his Drive Core.

It glowed like a star about to collapse, pulsing and throbbing as if it could explode at any second.

Outside, Zeishuro dragged himself toward the cathedral, shouting with every bit of breath he had.

"I don’t care how, just stop it! If that much energy blows, half this ward will be gone in seconds!"

They all wanted to move, but their bodies wouldn’t obey. The fights had pushed them past their limits, even just standing in their current state was almost impossible.

Ren, Sora, and Zeishuro tried to squeeze out the last drops of strength they had left, but reality was cruel. Their limbs stayed heavy, rendering them useless.

"Someone! Please!" Ren’s voice echoed through the warped cathedral.

Grin’s Drive Core pulsed harder, glowing brighter, almost ready to explode. The violent aura shoved Ren and Sora back, slamming them against the twisting walls.

Then........

A streak of blinding light shot through the cathedral window as dozens of glowing pillars, each eight meters tall, slammed into the ground around Grin, forming a solid ring of light acting as a cage.

In the next second, the pillars shifted like mirrors, then another beam of light blasted through the window, bouncing off them in rapid succession.

In a matter of seconds, over 60 piercing strikes ripped through Grin from every possible direction.

His body fell. But it wasn’t over. His Drive Core still pulsed wildly, seconds away from detonation.

Finally, Aeri dropped down from the top window, her hands glowing as she cast a powerful barrier of light around Grin.

He had already lost consciousness earlier, but the moment that warm light touched him, his mind stirred.

Am I going to die? What have I done? Did I really get my revenge? Does it even matter now? My sons, where are they? I’m sorry I failed you all. I’m sorry.....

Those were his last thoughts before his Drive Core erupted.

The blast was strong enough to erase half of Ward 8, yet Aeri’s barrier didn’t budge. It held firm as it swallowed the explosion in blinding light.

When the barrier faded, smoke poured from it. Grin was gone. No body, no trace. Only rubble, dust, and drifting ash remained.

"Goodbye, Father," Zeishuro whispered before his vision went dark and lost consciousness.

Inside the cathedral, Aeri rushed to Ren and Sora, both sitting on the ground with their bodies covered in bruises.

"Captain, please find Miko. We don’t know where he is." Sora said, her voice weak.

"The Raging Waters are already searching. I’ll join them soon enough." Aeri replied.

Her chest tightened the moment her eyes fell on Ren. She could tell, this boy had pushed far beyond his limits just to survive in this mission.

How is he even still conscious? she wondered, kneeling down. She placed her palms gently on his head and caressed it.

"We’ll handle the rest here. You need to rest, okay? You did well."

After hearing those words, Ren’s eyes finally closed, surrendering to a much needed sleep.

The Raging Waters and Aeri worked quickly to clean up the aftermath. Minutes later, they found Miko in an underground chamber just below the Saint’s lair.

He was bruised and battered, but that wasn’t what stood out the most. His eyes changed. They were dark and heavy with sadness. A look of someone who had seen something he could never forget.

Miko was usually the talkative one, but when he reunited with the squad and got into the car for the ride home, he stayed completely silent.

Yes, they were all surprised. But no one asked him anything. They all knew how much this mission had drained them not just physically, but mentally.

So for the whole ride home, only heavy silence accompanied the squad.

—------------------

At the edge of Ward 8, Kaien stared at the back of a man wearing a dark red jacket with messy black hair. The jacket was hanging loosely on his shoulders like a cape and had an embroidered pair of fangs on the back.

"So, the Shikkoku are behind that Core Bleed, huh?" Kaien said casually. "Not like it’s a surprise to me though."

"Kaien. Warden of the Mist," the man replied.

"What an honor, meeting one of Shikkoku’s Twelve Fangs."

"To be honest, I didn’t plan on running into you. I don’t want a pointless fight, after all, I’m just watching how that experiment went. But if we can’t avoid this, then I have no choice but to kill you."

Purple lightning burst from the man’s back, but Kaien dodged it with ease. He was about to strike back with his thick mist as he sent it towards the man. But just as the mist closed in, a massive crystal barrier appeared, blocking Kaien’s attack.

Lyra stepped between them, her yellow hair swaying in the wind and her crimson eyes were fixated on Kaien.

"Kade, the boss needs us now." Said Lyra.

"Well then, my dear Warden, looks like we’ll finish this another time. Until then, take care of my brother."

More violent purple lightning exploded towards Kaien as he blocked it with a mist barrier easily. But as soon as the air cleared, the two were already gone.

"So that’s Kade. I had my suspicions from the reports, but still, Ren’s brother being a Fang is something else."

—------------------------

When Squad 4 returned to the First Ward, they were immediately sent to the hospital. Sora and Miko were discharged after a single day. Their injuries were minor, needing only rest before they could return to strenuous activity.

Kaela and Seth stayed for 3 days. They had deep cuts from their battle with Aku, and their Drive Core energy was almost completely depleted. Still, with no vital injuries, they recovered quickly and were soon discharged.

Ren, however, slept for an entire week. His body had been pushed to its limit, torn apart by the overwhelming strain of the power he had unleashed against Grin. He wasn’t yet accustomed to his newly awakened abilities, and the toll was severe.

When he finally opened his eyes, Zeishuro was sitting beside his bed, wrapped in bandages.

"Yo. How are you feeling, hero?" Zeishuro asked with a smile.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t save Kuro." Ren said weakly.

"It’s not your fault," Zeishuro replied. "I’m just relieved they’re finally free from their years of suffering."

Ren tried to sit up, but his weakened body refused.

"Whoa, easy there. You need rest."

"Heh, guess so," Ren chuckled faintly. "So, are you going to join ZEAL?"

"I won’t, or rather, not yet," Zeishuro replied with a small smile.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"I don’t think I’m worthy to stand with you guys." Zeishuro said, his voice calm but firm. "You’re all too bright and I’ve been in the dark for as long as I can remember. I need to atone for my sins first. That’s what I’ll be doing for now. Maybe I’ll travel the world, grow stronger and find out who I am. I might come back, I might not, but when I feel I’ve earned my place in ZEAL, I’ll return."

Ren smiled faintly. He understood exactly what Zeishuro meant and deep down, he knew Zeishuro would be back someday.

"Alright, I’ll be waiting for you." Ren said, extending his weakened hand.

Zeishuro grasped it firmly as their hands locked in a silent promise.

As soon as Zeishuro left the room, Ren lay back, staring at the blank white ceiling of the hospital room.

"Agh! How long am I gonna be stuck in here?!" he groaned. "This is so boring!"

As if right on cue, the door creaked open.

"Well, I’d say another week." Kaien said as he stepped inside.

Ren sat up slightly. "Ouch! C’mon! Wait, why are you here?"

"I have a proposition," Kaien replied, folding his arms. "Once you’re discharged, I don’t want you taking any missions until you’ve mastered your Core Release. We’ll train your body, mind, and heart until then."

Ren thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, that’s probably the smartest thing to do after I recover. But what about my squad?"

Kaien’s expression darkened. "Aeri told me it’s bad. No one’s talking to each other, they only interact during training."

"That’s really not good. What do we do?"

Kaien shrugged. "I don’t know. Am I in your squad? No. That’s on you. Or maybe my sister? Anyway, just prepare some kind of pep talk. We’ll stop by your squad before training, consider it your last mission before you disappear for a while."

"How long will the training take?" Ren asked.

"Depends on you. But you’ve got about a week before you’re discharged, so use that time to prepare a pep talk, something that’ll light a fire in their hearts or whatever."

And with that, Kaien turned and walked out.

Ren can’t help but let out a sigh. "That guy. I seriously wonder how he became a Warden." He paused as his gaze drifted to the ceiling once again. "But I guess I can kind of see why the squad is like that. If it wasn’t for the captain, all of us would’ve been wiped out. I bet everyone’s feeling discouraged right now."

His tone shifted and was immediately replaced with frustration. "But still! How am I supposed to lift their spirits?! Kaien!!!"

Just outside the door, Aeri and Kaien stood listening, having caught every word Ren shouted as they both broke into quiet laughter.

"So? What’s your plan?" Aeri asked.

"I’m sending him to Valen for training." Kaien replied without hesitation. "If anyone’s fit to prepare his body for Core Release, it’s Valen."

Aeri crossed her arms. "Can’t argue with that."

Then Kaien’s eyes became serious. "We can’t send him back into the field without that power. And I don’t think his Fang of a brother is trying to kill him. After our little conversation, I’m convinced he’s waiting for something inside Ren to awaken."