Chereads / THE CURSE OF ASURA / Chapter 4 - A FALLEN MASTER

Chapter 4 - A FALLEN MASTER

Lee and Dayeon arrive at the bakery where they see Kira being busy with work. After finishing another order, she looks over and sees Lee with her little sister.

"Lee, hi. And I see you've met my sister."

"Yeah, we met in the woods and I thought I'd walk her back here." Lee says, rubbing the back of his head.

"He really just wanted to see you again." Dayeon says, causing both Lee's and Kira's face to turn red.

"So it looks like you're pretty busy. You need a hand?" Lee asks.

"Oh- that's ok, you don't have to." Kira says.

"I know." Lee replies with smile, walking into the back.

Kira can't help but smile when this happens.

"I like him." Dayeon says, making Kira blush.

Later at night Seokju, Mira, and Mikey walk through the woods, making their way to town.

"I wonder why Lee's been in town for so long." Mira says.

"Who knows. Maybe he's doing secret training." Seokju suggests.

Mikey then gets a big goofy grin on his face.

"Or maybe, he's with a secret lady friend. If you know what I mean?" Mikey says.

Seokju chuckles.

"Yeah right." He says.

Big, waterfall like tears appear on Mira's face.

"Oh no! Could it be? Our little brother is... becoming a man!?" She says.

Mikey starts crying too.

"I know! I can't believe it either!" He adds.

Seokju palms his face, being embarrassed by them. At that moment, the three of them sense something nearby.

"Eyes up. We're not alone." Seokju says as all three of them get serious.

At that moment Gijeok, Seongnam, and Miseon land infront of them.

"Who the hell are you guys?" Seokju asks.

Gijeok laughs devilishly.

"We're members of the Assassin Clan. I'm Gijeok, the big guy is Seongnam, and the beautiful lady is Miseon, a wicked woman."

"Well with a name like the Assassin Clan, I'm guessing you guys aren't the friendly type." Mikey says.

"On the contrary, we can be very friendly... depending on if you three come with us willing." Gijeok says.

Seongnam cracks his knuckles.

"Please resist. It's been awhile since I've cracked anyone's skull open." The giant says.

"Yeah, let's just crush them all." Miseon says.

Mira smirks.

"You guys can try." She says.

"Yeah. By all means." Mikey adds.

Gijeok sighs, pulling out a metal bat.

"Fine. Guess we'll have to do this the hard way." He says as the six of them prepare to fight.

As that's happening, Lee, Dayeon, and Kira lay on the ground exhausted.

"Wow, I didn't realize how exhausting working would be." Lee says.

Kira chuckles.

"Yep. This job isn't for the weak of heart. But you did pretty good for your first time." Kira says.

A big grin appears on Lee's face.

"Aw. Thanks." Lee says.

At that moment, Lee senses something outside and jumps up to his feet. Both Dayeon and Kira are confused.

"Hey, what's with you?" Dayeon asks.

A serious expression appears on Lee's face as he slowly walks over to the door.

"You two stay inside. No matter what happens... don't come out." He tells them.

Kira stands up.

"Lee... what's going on?"

Lee doesn't answer for a moment, turning to her with a smile.

"Everything's going to be alright. I promise, I'll deal with this as quick as possible."

Lee then steps outside as Kira and Dayeon watch from the window. The young man sees Jitae standing across from him.

"Ok... You have my attention. What do you want?"

Jitae smirks, cracking his neck.

"This is the part where I try to convince you to come with me quietly so we can avoid a big fight."

Jitae takes off his sandals and smiles.

"But where's the fun in that?"

In a second, Jitae appears right infront of Lee, throwing a kick with so much force, it shatters a few windows behind him, shocking Kira and Dayeon. Jitae's smile gets even bigger when he sees that Lee dodged the kick, getting even more excited.

"So you actually managed to dodge that, huh? I knew you'd be fun." Jitae says.

He is then surprised by Lee's face turning green.

"What's going on with you?" Jitae.

Lee takes a step back and takes a few breaths of fresh air.

"Your feet... really stinks." Lee says.

Jitae is shocked for a moment, then starts to laugh.

"Sorry about that."

Lee then takes a deep breath.

"But... If it's a fight you want, then I'm happy to volunteer." Lee says, taking a fighting stance.

Jitae chuckles, taking a stance of his own.

"That's the spirit." He says.

As the fights start, Ijin sits in the front of the dojo drinking tea. He then senses something at his front door. The gates of his dojo are then blasted open while he continues to drink his tea. He looks over and sees Hak Son Kang along with Project X-9.

"Mr. Monroe Ijin... It's a true honor to meet you." Hak Son says with a smile.

Ijin continues to drink his tea.

"You knocked down my doors." He says.

"You see, I've traveled a long way to meet you... I wanted to ask you about the child of Asura you've been hiding." Kang says.

This catches Monroe off guard a bit, but he keeps his composure.

"You didn't actually think you could keep them hidden, did you?"

Monroe slowly stands up.

"I think it's time for you to go. Take you and your monstrosity and leave my home. Now." Monroe says.

Hak Son Kang sighs.

"Guess we're doing this the hard way." He says.

Kang then snaps his fingers, unleashing X-9. The creature charges at Monroe with great speed. The Martial-Arts master quickly jumps up into the air and kicks the monster in the neck, turning his head all the way around. Monroe is confused by X-9 still standing on its feet. The monster then shocks Monroe by turning its head back around.

"That beast is the pinnacle of both Ki and science. It'll take more than that to take him down." Hak Son says.

Monroe rolls up his sleeves and takes a fighting stance, charging up his ki.

"Very well then." He says, preparing to fight.

Meanwhile in the woods, Mikey and Seongnam tests each others strength. As the two lock up, the ground starts to crumble underneath their feet, the two gritting their teeth.

"Come on, big guy. Is that all you got?" Mikey asks.

He then crushes both of Seongnam's hands and pushes him through a tree.

"Your muscles may look impressive, but they didn't come from hard work. They mean nothing when up against true strength." Mikey says.

He then spins him around and throws him up in the air and watches as he crashes down to the ground.

Mira backflips to gain distance from her opponent, but when she stops, she's surprised to see Miseon right infront of her.

"Crap." Mira thinks to herself.

Miseon throws a strong Lariat that Mira barely blocks. Mira tries to step back, but her opponent quickly closes the distance and takes her down to the ground. Mira kicks her off and jumps back to her feet, but Miseon is back on Mira, moving behind her and slaming her on the back of her head. Mira gets back to her feet, frustrated by Miseon.

"Your Martial-Arts style is cute, but it's weak when it comes to close combat." Miseon says.

As Mira takes a fighting stance, Miseon charges in again, going for her legs. When she charges in, Mira lifts her leg high up in the air and slams it hard on her back. As she is stunned, Mira slams her knee in her face, dropping her.

"A true martial artist can adapt to any weakness. Maybe next time, you'll learn not to underestimate your opponent." Mira says.

As Seokju throws a punch, Gijeok hits him three times with the bat before it could land. Seokju stumbles a little, but regains his balance and smiles.

"Interesting." He says.

"I tried to avoid this. It's not too late to give up and come with me quietly."

Seokju chuckles.

"Now what kind of older brother would I be if I was the only one to loose."

Gijeok smirks.

"So be it."

Over and over, Gijeok hits Seokju with the bat before he can land a single strike. After getting hit in the head, Seokju drops to his knee.

"This is your last chance. Stay down." Gijeok says.

Seokju wipes the blood from his forehead and stands to his feet again. He then starts charging his ki through his right hand, preparing a powerful punch. Gijeok doesn't wait, he goes to hit Seokju again, but Seokju throws the punch, obliterating the metal bat.

"Impossible!" Gijeok yells as the punch sends him flying into rocks nearby.

Soon Mikey and Mira make their way to Seokju.

"Looks like we're all ok." Mikey says.

"Not all of us. We gotta go find Lee, fast." Seokju says.

Meanwhile, Lee lands a punch on Jitae, sending him flying into the wall.

"Alright, Lee!" Dayeon says.

Lee stares at the unconscious Jitae.

"You can stop acting, I know that's not enough to put you down." Lee says.

Jitae smiles and stands to his feet.

"I knew I made the right decision when I picked you." Jitae says.

Jitae then dashes at him and prepares a punch.

"You're the one!" He yells.

Before Jitae can even throw a punch, Lee lands a head kick so strong that it shatters the ground behind him. Jitae recovers then throws a kick at Lee's head. Lee quickly blocks with a kick of his own, then spinkicks Jitae in the face, knocking him back.

"There's no doubt about it..." Jitae thinks to himself.

Lee then steps forward, charging blue ki through his hand, preparing a punch similar to Seokju, but more focused.

"This kids... truly amazing."

Lee lands punch to his body, dropping him instantly. The young fighter takes a deep breath as he stands over Jitae's unconscious body. Dayeon and Kira run outside, hugging Lee.

"Lee that was- incredible." Kira says.

"That was totally badass." Dayeon says.

Lee then turns to his siblings who approaches him.

"You alright, little brother?" Seokju asks.

Lee grins.

"Yep."

At that moment, the four of them sense something that shocks them.

"Master!" They all say.

Back at the Dojo Monroe is barely on his feet, bloody and injured as X-9 hasn't taken any damage. With the remaining Ki he has, he sends out a massive ki blast at the monster. When the smoke clears, he is shocked that not even that was able to scratch the creature. Monroe soon drops to his knees, exhausted. Hak Son Kang soon walks over to him with an evil grin, kneeling down and grabbing him by the face.

"So...still don't want to tell me where the child of Asura is?"

Monroe looks at Kang, with righteousness in his eyes.

"...never..." He replies.

Kang scowls at the old man.

"Fine. I'll settle for your power. For now at least."

He then sends his hand through his chest, stealing Monroe's energy for himself.

"Mira...Mikey...Seokju...Lee... Take- care... of each other." Monroe thinks to himself.

When Hak Son finishes, Monroe's body drops to the ground, as his body surges with power.

"YES! That old fools energy is incredible. Imagine my power once I absorb the Curse of Asura!"

Hak Son Kang then senses multiple strong powers coming towards him.

"I guess those fools couldn't finish the job... and there's another one coming up on us fast. It's time to leave."

Soon he and X-9 leave, then the man in the mask appears in the dojo. He runs over to Monroe, rolling him over and feeling his pulse. He then sighs and puts his hand on his chest.

"I'm sorry... old man." He says, a single tear falling from underneath his mask.

He then senses Lee and the others coming and quickly disappears. When the four students arrive, they are shocked to see their master on the ground, motionless.

"Oh God." Mira says.

Lee quickly runs over and holds his master in his arms, tears forming in his eyes.

"Master? Master come on, you gotta get up...come on stop fooling around... get up!"

As Mikey and Mira cry uncontrollably, Seokju walks over to Lee and puts his hand on his shoulder, tears falling down his cheek.

"He's... gone." Seokju says.

Lee looks up at his eldest brother, with sorrow in his eyes, knowing that he was right.

Soon, after burying their master in the the same place Lee's other family is buried, the four of them stand infront of the grave with tears in their eyes as they remember what a great man he was.