"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!! ONLY A TRUE VALRIC CAN HAVE PURE GREEN EYES! DOES THAT MEAN..."
"WHO ARE YOU?!" asks Thorne.
Michael replies,
"The answer to the question you've been asking your whole life."
Thorne pauses.
"...What?"
Michael looks directly into his eyes.
"You're not the last Valric."
Thorne steps back in disbelief.
"You are a Valric? Impossible... There is no way. Show your back to me."
Michael asks,
"What do you mean?"
Thorne replies,
"All Valrics have a symbol on their back."
Michael slowly opens his shirt.
The mark is revealed.
Thorne is completely blown away.
"YOU ARE A VALRIC!!!"
"THAT MEANS MY ENTIRE LIFE WAS A LIE! I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY VALRIC LEFT IN THE WORLD!"
Michael calmly replies,
"I guess you're not, Thorne."
Thorne's expression changes.
"NO... I AM..."
"...AFTER I KILL YOU!"
Thorne kicks Michael on the chin, sending him flying backward.
Michael loses Regicide from his hand.
Thorne quickly jumps forward and picks it up.
He stares at the blade in shock.
"REGICIDE... THE ANCIENT VALRIC BLADE!"
"HOW DO YOU HAVE IT?!"
"IT BELONGED TO MY FATHER!"
He tightens his grip.
"Well... I don't care anymore."
Thorne raises Regicide above his head, preparing to kill Michael.
Suddenly—
Uncle Sam screams from the wall.
"STOP!!!"
Everyone looks toward him.
Silence.
Uncle Sam points at Michael.
"DON'T KILL HIM..."
"...THAT'S YOUR BROTHER!"
...
Nothing moves.
The battlefield falls completely silent.
Even the soldiers stop fighting.
Thorne lets out a laugh.
"Good joke."
Uncle Sam doesn't smile.
"His name is Michael Valric."
"Your father's son."
The sword slowly slips from Thorne's hand.
"...No."
Michael looks at him.
For the first time...
Not as an enemy.
But as family.
He quietly says—
"Brother..."
Thorne immediately shouts,
"YOU ARE NOT MY BROTHER! YOU CAN'T BE!"
Michael replies,
"I am your brother, Thorne. We are blood-related."
"Not only that..."
"You have a sister as well."
Thorne asks,
"How do you know her?"
Michael quietly answers,
"I married her."
For a second...
Thorne is silent.
Then he suddenly bursts into laughter.
"YOU MARRIED YOUR OWN SISTER, YOU FOOL!!"
Michael lowers his head.
"No... I'm not a fool."
"I didn't know back then."
Thorne slowly stops laughing.
Then he asks,
"I'm going to ask you something."
"If you had found out she was your sister just five minutes before the wedding..."
"...what would you have done?"
Michael remains completely silent.
Not a single word leaves his mouth.
Thorne smiles.
"That's the answer to all your problems with her... if you're having any."
He points Regicide toward Michael.
"Now get up, brother."
"Our fight is still continuing."
Thorne swings Regicide at Michael.
Michael blocks it with the Purple Emperor's power.
The impact shakes the battlefield.
Michael asks,
"Tell me something..."
"Why are you fighting so desperately for people who don't even know your name?"
Thorne answers without hesitation.
"Because I don't need their gratitude."
"I only need them to wake up tomorrow."
Michael suddenly takes Regicide back from Thorne.
The moment both of them clash—
They disappear.
BOOM!!!
The ground caves in beneath them.
Every punch creates massive shockwaves.
Purple lightning collides against green wind.
Thorne grins.
"This is the strongest man Crimson Oath has?"
Michael smiles.
"Come and find out."
CLANG!!!
Regicide collides with Thorne's blade.
The shockwave splits the clouds.
Both warriors release every ounce of their power.
PURPLE.
GREEN.
The collision creates a gigantic hurricane that spreads across the battlefield.
Everyone stops fighting.
Even both armies stare in complete disbelief.
One soldier whispers,
"Those two..."
"...aren't human."
After countless clashes...
Both Michael and Thorne suddenly collapse onto the ground.
They have exhausted every last bit of their strength.
Mentally.
Physically.
Michael has Regicide resting against Thorne's neck.
Thorne's blade is pointed directly at Michael's chest.
Neither of them moves.
Neither of them speaks.
Finally...
Thorne breaks the silence.
"Go on."
"End the Valric bloodline."
Michael slowly lowers Regicide.
He looks at Thorne.
Then quietly says,
"No."
"It has lost enough."