Mark's father opens the door and finds himself face to face with the Protector, who says, "Let me introduce myself—I am the Protector. I have come in person because this is not the first, second, or even third time I have received a report about an Elemental in this family."
Mark's father replies, "That must be a mistake. There are no Elementals in this family."
The Protector responds, "Even so, I will stay for a mo—"
Before he can finish, Mark lands a punch on him and exclaims, "Come on, Dad! If we fight together, we can defeat him!"
His father shouts back, "Idiot! We can't defeat him!"
The Protector gets up, furious, and prepares to kill them. "YOU, BRAT, HAVE MADE A HUGE MISTAKE!"
He sends Mark flying, catches up as he falls, and is about to behead him when Mark's father arrives just in time, striking the Protector and pushing him away from Mark. Thus, the battle between them begins.
Mark's father launches his attack, but the Protector blocks it. He throws another punch, but the Protector dodges. He follows up with a kick that barely grazes the Protector, then unleashes a flurry of punches, finishing with another kick. However, the Protector evades and blocks all his attacks.
The Protector extends a sword from his arm and begins attacking Mark's father. The first strike grazes him, but he manages to dodge the rest with increasing ease. The Protector lands a powerful hit, sending Mark's father flying several meters. Still in the air, he retaliates with a fire attack that hits the Protector directly.
Seizing the opportunity, he attempts to finish him off with a double kick, but the Protector suddenly vanishes and reappears behind him, driving his sword into his back and killing him.
Mark's father falls to the ground, defeated and lifeless. Mark rushes to his father and, seeing his dead body, is consumed by overwhelming rage. He lets out a thunderous scream and repeatedly tries to strike the Protector, but the latter dodges every blow and brutally counterattacks, finishing with a powerful kick.
Afterward, the Protector says, "Kid, you have one month to get stronger. We will meet in the center of the city on February 14th. See you there."
The next day, Mark put on his father's red jacket and skipped school. Instead, he spent the entire morning sitting on a swing in the park.
In the afternoon, Iker found him and said, "Mark, I heard about your father..."
Mark replied, "Iker, you're my best friend. I can tell you the truth, but you must promise not to tell anyone."
Iker nodded. "Alright, I won't tell anyone."
Mark then revealed the truth—his family were Elementals, and his father had died fighting the Protector.
Iker's eyes widened. "Seriously!? I'm an Elemental too! I control lightning. If you want, I can train you for that battle in a month. Do you want to be strong?"
Mark clenched his fists. "No, I want to be the strongest."