Tiffany, Jiena, and Rafael hurried through the forest towards the rice fields. They noticed a chopper attempting to land.
"There they are!" Jiena exclaimed.
Tiffany quickly drew her pistol and opened fire, taking down the pilot.
"Tiffany Yoon!" Svetlana cried. "Have you come to meet Jesus?"
"I'm here to send you to Satan!" Tiffany retorted, dashing back into the forest with Svetlana in pursuit. Chuck rushed to the twins' side.
"I'll handle Shrimpo, you take care of Jude or find your father - he's probably chasing Fernando and Javier right now," Chuck said, running after Shrimpo.
"I'll deal with Jude," Rafael stated, approaching his arch-nemesis.
"I've been waiting for this moment," Jude declared, "I want to see you drenched in your own blood."
Rafael glanced at Jude, both waiting to see who would strike first. He then dropped his pistol, surprising Jude.
"I have nothing to lose," Rafael boasted.
"Don't get cocky!" Jude exclaimed, rushing in to attack Rafael with his bare hands.
"Is that all you've got?" Rafael taunted, countering with a kick to Jude's face.Despite his large physique, Jude withstood the blow.
"I thought a fly had landed on my face," he said, jabbing Rafael in the stomach and knocking him back.Jiena rushed in and tried to punch Jude, knocking him down.
Muro and Takeru arrived and began pummeling him.
"This is between me and him!" Rafael shouted, kicking Jude in the chin and breaking his neck.Suddenly, Kanna appeared, pointing a pistol at Jude.
"This is for all the suffering you've caused me," she said, then pulled the trigger, shooting Jude in the head and ending both their suffering.
"Kanna," Rafael murmured.Kanna turned to the siblings and said,
"Go, your father needs you." Muro replied, "We'll look for Sachiko. You should go and help Dad."
As they spoke, they witnessed an explosion just a few kilometers away. Without hesitation, Jiena and Rafael rushed towards the area, believing that Karl was at the source of the blast.
------
At a rice field near a hill, Fernando crawled away from a burning vehicle, fighting for his life. As he struggled, he noticed a man approaching. Panic set in, and he stood up, drawing a hidden blade.
"You cannot kill me," Fernando sneered. "You will never defeat me, Karl Marino."
"I came all the way from Manila just to kill you," Karl replied, his voice icy and determined. "It would be a pity if I failed."
"Javier is with me, and you don't have Takako. You're useless."
"I can kill you with or without Takako," Karl retorted, his gaze piercing. "You're just a leech who rose to power because of one traitor and an ambitious sage. Without Javier, you're nothing but dust."
A chilling silence fell, and Karl sensed someone behind him. At that moment, Jiena, Rafael, and Kanna arrived, hiding in the tall grass, watching the confrontation unfold.
"Javier," Karl muttered.
"Let's end this feud once and for all," Javier declared, stepping forward. "You are the reason I became a fugitive, the reason I lost the love of my life, and the reason I've suffered so much."
"It's only fitting that we killed Riko in front of your kids so you could feel what Javier feels," Fernando taunted.
"Oh, a leech and a user sympathizing with a criminal?" Karl mocked. "You're exploiting Javier's feelings for your gain."
Karl took two steps back, adopting a defensive stance. He had no weapons aside from his fists and feet. Javier and Fernando lunged at him with knives, but the Marino patriarch deftly evaded their attacks, delivering blow after blow, knocking them to the ground.
Suddenly, Albert emerged from the shadows and attempted to slash Karl's back. Reacting swiftly, Karl caught Albert's hand and drove a wakizashi deep into a nearby tree, immobilizing him.
"You're all so predictable," Karl said, his voice dripping with disdain.
Fernando and Javier, now injured and struggling, exchanged desperate glances. The battle wasn't over, and with Jiena, Rafael, and Kanna watching, it was clear the final showdown was imminent.
"Pity," Karl muttered as he threw Albert to the ground.
Seizing the moment, Javier kicked Karl, sending him sprawling near a tree. Unable to stand by any longer, Jiena and Rafael sprang from the bushes to defend their father, launching an attack on Javier.
Jiena leaped into the air, aiming a flying kick at Javier. He sidestepped and shoved her into the rice paddies. Rafael charged in with a flurry of punches, but Javier countered with a swift F1 technique, taking him down.
Karl struggled to his feet, reaching for the wakizashi lodged in the tree. Fernando rushed in, engaging him in a fierce sparring match. Karl threw punches with his right hand while desperately trying to free the wakizashi with his left. Javier joined the fray, bombarding Karl with punches, which he dodged by circling the tree and delivering quick jabs to Javier's face.
"You're too old for this, Karl," Javier sneered, laughing as he continued his relentless assault.
Fernando followed up with a powerful kick using his steel legs, forcing Karl to his knees. Blood poured from Karl's forehead after being struck by a projectile.
"Damn it," Karl murmured.
Jiena and Rafael recovered and attacked Fernando and Javier, attempting to protect their father. Their interference gave Karl a moment to stand and gather his strength.
"No," Karl growled, finally freeing the wakizashi from the Acacia tree. With renewed vigor, he launched a fresh series of attacks against his two adversaries. Fernando shoved Rafael and Jiena, sending them rolling into the rice paddies.
Now wielding the wakizashi, Karl faced off against Fernando and Javier, his determination burning brighter than ever. The intensity of the battle escalated, the outcome uncertain as the struggle for survival continued amidst the chaos.
Javier surged forward, hurling another deadly punch at Karl. The Marino patriarch deftly evaded the attack and slashed his enemy's back.
Albert, regaining his footing, drew his Beretta and aimed at Karl. "This is your end, you bastard," he snarled.
Karl reacted instantly, pulling Fernando into the line of fire just as Albert pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the "Dragon Lord" in the chest.
"You traitor," Fernando growled, throwing Karl aside. He rushed at Albert, unleashing a barrage of punches before snapping a vein in his neck, killing him instantly.
"Dad!" Kanna screamed in horror, rushing to her father's lifeless body.
"Kanna, no!" Rafael shouted, running to shield her from Fernando.
As his energy waned, Karl made a final, desperate move. He slashed at Fernando's head with the wakizashi, blood spurting from Fernando's brain. Karl then collapsed, his strength nearly spent.
Javier, also weakening, staggered toward Karl. He picked up the wakizashi, ready to deliver a final blow. "We'll see each other in hell," Javier uttered, striking at Karl. But Karl blocked the attack with his palm, giving his mortal enemy a deathly stare. Seizing the moment, Jiena and Rafael sprang into action. They drew their hidden blades and stabbed Javier in the side and back, causing him to spew blood into Karl's face.
The wakizashi fell, slashing Karl's shoulder as it dropped. As the twins removed their blades from Javier's body, he knelt down, slumping against Karl's shoulder.
"It was always about Takako and Eikichi," Javier whispered. "Now, I understand the meaning of loyalty."
"I am not a slave to anyone," Karl retorted. "You made your life miserable by believing lies instead of the truth we tried to tell you."
"I treated you... as... a... brother," Javier stammered, before losing his breath and slumping lifelessly.
"And you treated me as an enemy," Karl sighed before passing out. Rafael was at his side, catching him just in time.
"Dad," Rafael said quietly, staring at his father with deep concern. He glanced at Kanna, who continued to weep over her father's body.
"You," Kanna spat, "you and your family are the reason we suffered so much. From now on, you are my enemy."
Tears streamed down Rafael's face upon hearing those words from the woman he once loved. Speechless and heartbroken, he held his unconscious father in his arms.
"Let's go," Jiena urged her twin brother. "Your tears are useless."
Carrying Karl on his back, Rafael and Jiena walked away from Kanna, heading toward the fortified mansion where the rest of their siblings awaited them.
----
Back at the destroyed mansion, Jiena and Rafael arrived, gently unloading Karl near a tree. Bianca approached them, letting out a heavy sigh.
"What's the matter?" Rafael asked, sensing something was wrong.
"It's about Sachiko," Bianca replied, leading them to an ambulance. Rafael noticed a body covered in a white cloth. His heart raced, his body shivering as he approached. With trembling hands, he lifted the cloth.
"No...," Rafael shook his head in disbelief. "No!"
Inside the ambulance lay Sachiko, gunshot wounds marking her chest, with one fatal bullet piercing her heart. A horrified Rafael climbed into the ambulance and wrapped his arms around his wife's lifeless body.
"Sachiko!" Rafael wailed, his siblings, friends, and allies falling into a solemn silence.
"Where did you find her?" Jiena asked Bianca, her voice steady but concerned.
"In the creek," Bianca explained. "They killed her just as you and the others arrived."
"Who did this?" Tiffany asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Yoshiko," Jasmine replied. "Sahoko chased her down and shot her to death."
"And what about Svetlana and Rodall?" Jiena asked, needing to know the fate of their other enemies.
"I impaled Svetlana's head," Tiffany answered grimly. "That ended her for good. As for Rodall, he had too many broken bones thanks to Chuck and eventually died."
The group stood in heavy silence, the weight of their losses pressing down on them. Rafael, still holding Sachiko, sobbed quietly, overwhelmed by grief. The battle was won, but the cost was high, leaving scars that would never fully heal.
----
Karl had woken up, hearing Rafael's wails at the edge of his breath. He approached the ambulance, his heart breaking at the sight of his son sobbing over Sachiko's lifeless body. The horror of Riko's murder flashed through Karl's mind as he gazed at his helpless son.
"Rafael," he murmured, tears streaming down his face.
"It's your fault," Rafael said, looking into his father's eyes with intense anger. "It's your fault she died... it's all your fault, Dad!"
"Rafael!" Jiena tried to intervene.
"If you hadn't started this war or if you'd ended it sooner, Sachiko wouldn't have ended up like this!" Rafael gritted his teeth. "I despise you... I despise you!"
Karl was taken aback, stunned by his son's words. He stood frozen, blinking his eyes before lowering his head. Turning his back on everyone, he slowly walked away.
The war that had lasted for thirty years had finally come to a close, but not without casualties, murders, and broken relationships. All the members of the Red Scorpions and the northern faction were annihilated in just one night. Jamie Seo, the new president of the country, had ordered all police and military personnel to launch a comprehensive crackdown against their rivals.
-----
Few weeks later, at a cemetery, the Marino clan gathered to bid farewell to Sachiko. She was a good wife and a great mother, not just to her own kids, but to her step-children as well. They all gathered at the mausoleum of the Marino Clan.
Rafael, clad in black, surrounded by his children and siblings, sprinkling holy water at Sachiko's casket, their children who were clinging on their Aunt Rina still couldn't understand what is going on as they were still young.
"Sachiko, please do not think that I never loved you," Rafael said, "I loved you and I tried to protect you, but I failed, I am a failure just like my father, just what he expects me to be".
From a certain distance from the mausoleum, Karl watches them, wiping his tears and gasping a sigh. He has come into terms that Rafael will forever begrudge him. Chuck approached him and sat down,
"What are you going to do now?" he asked Karl.
"Gone, gone with the wind," Karl answered, "I'll leave silently that they'd think I never existed, I want to give them the freedom that they have wanted for so long".
"Riko was domineering, and I was after my ambition that I want them to be what they don't even want to be or in a place that they wouldn't even want to be in the first place," he added, "I failed as a husband and I failed as a father".
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Chuck tries to comfort his boss.
"Chuck, tell Tiffany that you will be helping Rafael in the pacification of the North and she'll hand you over the title of Chief Enforcer," Karl instructed, "I don't want to be involved in all of this anymore. I don't want more lives to be wasted because of this war that started all because of greed".
"Rafael is still young and naïve," said Chuck, "But I'll guide him and so are the kids,"
Karl offered his hand of brotherhood to Chuck, a gesture the latter accepted as they continue to watch over the burial of Sachiko, they believe that Rafael will rise like a phoenix and will become a dominant force not just in the business, but in the underground world.
---Chapter end--