Chapter 58: No Escape
Time seemed to stop.
Lee Kang's White Dragon Sword remained buried deep inside Lee Kung's chest.
Blood dripped slowly from the blade, falling through the air like crimson rain.
Lee Kung's crimson eyes had faded back to their natural color, yet the smile on his face remained.
Below them, Mia screamed his name.
Sio Jun's heart skipped.
Gin Morino stood frozen.
No one understood why Lee Kung was smiling.
Then—
A low metallic hum echoed from inside Lee Kung's chest.
HMMMMMMMM...
Lee Kang frowned.
"What... is that sound?"
Lee Kung smiled weakly.
"It means..."
"...you lost."
---
Several days earlier...
Deep beneath the Hall of Heroes...
Commander Pius led Lee Kung, Mia, and Sio Jun through a series of reinforced blast doors.
Each door required a different security seal before opening.
Finally, the last vault unlocked.
The room beyond looked nothing like the medieval architecture of Azura.
Instead, polished steel walls surrounded them.
Holographic displays floated in the air.
Ancient magic circles glowed beneath advanced machinery.
At the center of the laboratory rested a circular device no larger than a human heart.
Blue energy pulsed inside it.
Commander Pius folded his arms.
"This..."
"...is the Arc Reactor."
Lee Kung walked closer.
"So this is the prototype?"
Pius nodded.
"It converts Dragon-Level Mana into compressed dimensional energy."
Mia looked confused.
"I don't understand."
Pius activated a projection.
A three-dimensional image of the reactor floated above the table.
"The corruption controlling Lee Kang is not physical."
"It exists between dimensions."
"Destroying his body will not destroy the corruption."
"It will simply find another host."
Sio Jun's expression darkened.
"So we need something capable of reaching another dimension."
"Exactly."
Lee Kung crossed his arms.
"And this can do it?"
Pius nodded.
"It can."
"But only once."
He enlarged the hologram.
"The Arc Reactor stores enormous Dragon Energy."
"Enough to erase corruption inside a radius of three thousand meters."
Mia's eyes widened.
"Three thousand..."
"That would cover this entire city."
"It would."
Another image appeared.
The reactor connected directly to the heart.
Everyone became silent.
Commander Pius looked directly at Lee Kung.
"There is only one problem."
"The reactor requires a fatal trigger."
Lee Kung remained calm.
"What kind of trigger?"
Pius pointed toward the center.
"A direct stab through the heart."
Silence filled the laboratory.
Mia looked horrified.
"What?"
Commander Pius lowered his head.
"The reactor cannot activate through ordinary damage."
"It must detect complete heart penetration."
"The Dragon Core fused inside Lee Kung's body will immediately synchronize with it."
"Once synchronized..."
"...there is no stopping it."
Sio Jun slowly stepped forward.
"So..."
"Lee Kung has to be stabbed?"
"Yes."
"No."
Mia shook her head immediately.
"There has to be another way."
"There isn't."
Commander Pius sighed.
"The corruption adapts too quickly."
"If we attack it directly..."
"It escapes."
"If we trap it..."
"It possesses someone else."
Lee Kung quietly stared at the reactor.
"So..."
"If I'm stabbed..."
"What happens?"
Commander Pius enlarged another hologram.
"The reactor immediately creates a dimensional boundary."
"No one carrying corrupted energy can escape."
"The boundary seals reality itself."
"It cannot be broken from inside or outside."
"It lasts only sixty seconds."
"What happens after sixty seconds?" Lee Kung asked.
"The stored Dragon Energy detonates."
The projection exploded into a sphere of light.
"The shockwave will banish every corrupted spirit..."
"...within a radius of three thousand meters."
Mia slowly looked toward Lee Kung.
"You planned this..."
Lee Kung nodded.
"For weeks."
She grabbed his arm.
"No."
"You are not doing this."
He smiled gently.
"It isn't that simple."
"Yes, it is!"
"You'll die!"
Tears filled her eyes.
Commander Pius quietly turned away.
Even he couldn't look at them.
Mia's voice trembled.
"How are you supposed to survive after being stabbed through the heart?"
Lee Kung finally answered.
"You."
She blinked.
"What?"
"You'll heal me."
Her face immediately fell.
"...Lee."
"You know healing magic can't repair a destroyed heart instantly."
"It might fail."
Lee Kung smiled.
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Because..."
"If you can't..."
"I already have another plan."
"What plan?"
He simply smiled.
"I'll tell you..."
"...after we win."
Mia punched his shoulder.
"You idiot."
"You absolute idiot."
She buried her face against his chest.
"You keep making plans that scare me."
Lee Kung hugged her.
"I promised Master Po I'd bring everyone home."
"I intend to keep that promise."
Sio Jun quietly looked away.
For some reason...
She suddenly remembered the man she had once loved.
The same foolish smile.
The same willingness to sacrifice everything.
Commander Pius finally spoke.
"There is one final condition."
Everyone looked toward him.
"The stab cannot be random."
"The corruption itself must willingly strike."
"If the reactor senses self-inflicted activation..."
"It will refuse."
Lee Kung nodded.
"So..."
"I need Lee Kang to stab me."
Pius looked into his eyes.
"Can you do that?"
Lee Kung smiled.
"I know my brother."
"If I leave one opening..."
"He'll take it."
---
The present.
A sharp metallic pulse erupted from Lee Kung's chest.
WHOOOOOOOM!!
Lee Kang's eyes widened.
"No..."
The Arc Reactor awakened.
Golden circuits spread beneath Lee Kung's skin like rivers of light.
The Dragon Core synchronized instantly.
The canyon trembled.
The city trembled.
The mountains trembled.
A circle of crimson-gold light expanded beneath both brothers.
Runes appeared across the earth.
One after another.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Ancient Dragon symbols.
Then—
Columns of light shot toward the heavens.
A gigantic dome formed over the entire city.
Its walls stretched beyond sight.
Its surface shimmered with ancient Dragon inscriptions.
Lee Kang looked upward.
"What..."
"...is this?"
The corruption inside him screamed.
It finally understood.
"No!"
Dark smoke burst violently from Lee Kang's body.
The corruption attempted to abandon him.
A monstrous shadow creature tore itself halfway out of his back.
Its eyes glowed with hatred.
It immediately rushed toward the edge of the barrier.
It slammed against the wall.
BOOOOOM!!
Nothing happened.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The creature punched.
Scratched.
Bit.
Roared.
The barrier never moved.
Below, Sio Jun slowly stood.
Despite her injuries...
She smiled.
"It worked."
Mia looked upward.
Tears streamed down her face.
Sio Jun whispered,
"Now..."
"...your corrupted side has nowhere left to run."
The shadow monster screamed.
It clawed desperately at the barrier.
Its body slowly began sliding backward.
"No!"
It struck the wall again.
Nothing.
It tried flying upward.
The ceiling rejected it.
It dug into the ground.
Ancient runes erupted beneath the soil.
It couldn't escape.
Lee Kang watched in horror.
The corruption dragged him toward the barrier again and again, desperately searching for an opening.
"There has to be a way!"
"There has to be!"
It slammed the wall with both fists.
The entire dome remained perfectly still.
The shadow creature began crying.
Not from pain.
From fear.
It had realized something.
It was trapped.
Mia slowly wiped away her tears.
She looked toward the barrier.
Then quietly whispered,
"No escape."
The words echoed through the dome.
Immediately...
Every rune ignited.
The Arc Reactor reached full synchronization.
The countdown ended.
A sun was born inside the barrier.
Brilliant crimson light swallowed everything.
Lee Kang screamed.
The corruption screamed louder.
The shadow creature was ripped completely away from his body.
It clawed desperately toward him.
"No!"
"Master Dehaska!"
"Save me!"
No answer came.
The Dragon Light consumed it.
Thousands of corrupted shadows hidden throughout the city rose into the air.
Every one of them screamed.
Every one of them dissolved into particles of black ash.
The shockwave finally erupted.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A colossal wave of crimson Dragon energy exploded outward.
It passed through buildings without damaging them.
It passed through trees without burning them.
It harmed only darkness.
The corrupted spirits were erased instantly.
Every shadow soldier disintegrated.
Every fragment of corruption vanished.
The horrifying darkness that had haunted the city for months disappeared in seconds.
Silence followed.
The barrier slowly dissolved into countless particles of light.
The sky cleared.
Sunlight returned.
The storm was gone.
For the first time in what felt like forever...
The world became peaceful.
Then—
A body fell from the sky.
Lee Kung.
His armor had vanished.
His sword had disappeared.
His eyes were closed.
He fell without resistance.
"LEE!!"
Mia launched herself into the air with the last of her magic.
She caught him moments before he struck the ground.
His body felt cold.
Too cold.
She held him tightly.
"No..."
"No..."
She placed both hands over the wound in his chest.
Golden healing circles appeared.
"Greater Restoration!"
Light flooded his body.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
"Heaven's Grace!"
Again...
Nothing.
The wound refused to close.
His heartbeat refused to return.
"Please..."
"Please..."
She poured everything she had into the spell.
Her magic circles shattered.
Blood trickled from her own mouth from magical exhaustion.
Still...
Lee Kung did not wake.
Sio Jun slowly approached.
Her silver eyes trembled.
She knelt beside them.
"...Mia?"
Mia shook her head violently.
"No."
"He promised."
"He promised he'd survive."
Commander Pius and several Heroes finally reached the battlefield.
They stopped the moment they saw Lee Kung lying motionless in Mia's arms.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
The entire canyon stood in silence.
Only Mia's quiet sobs could be heard as she continued trying to heal the boy she loved...
...while somewhere deep within the darkness of Lee Kung's fading consciousness, a familiar ancient voice whispered,
"The final plan....... worked????