Chapter 74: Blood Connection

Sometimes, blood doesn’t scream.
Sometimes, it simply flows… silent, inevitable, carrying along truths we’d rather never know.

There are bonds we don’t choose.
We are born tied to names, to lineages, to stories that began long before our first breath.
But what happens when those ties, instead of protecting us, condemn us?
What happens when discovering who you are means accepting the horror of what others did before you?

The past always finds a way to return—through a word, a face, a mark.
And when it does, it tears everything away with violence.

Today, it’s not about justice or vengeance.
Today, the hidden threads of blood begin to unravel.
And with every strand exposed, the world draws closer to a truth that should have never come to light.

Because there are wounds that never heal…
And there are names… written in blood.

——————————————————————————————————————————

The screams of the past don’t fade with time. They only get buried… until something—or someone—wakes them again.

Alexbold’s figure rose like a shadow of restrained fury, his eyes burning with a rage that neither time nor orders could extinguish.
“Barbanegra!” he roared, his voice cracking under the weight of memories that burned like open scars.

Shun turned, knowing the inevitable was about to unfold.
“Alexbold…”

“I’ll make you pay for everything you’ve done—for every life you’ve taken,” he spat, advancing with steps so heavy that the very ground seemed afraid to yield beneath his wrath. “You’ll pay!”

Images of horror lashed his mind: bodies, fire, the screams of those long gone.
“This is all your fault!” he shouted, pointing at Teach with a finger stained in the blood of memory. “And if you, Shun, get in my way… I won’t hesitate to kill you too!”

Shun frowned—not from the threat, but from confusion.
“Idiot… you don’t understand. He—”

But Teach stepped forward. His rough voice echoed among the rocks.
“So you finally came, runt. You have no idea how much I enjoyed… every single scream my hand caused.”

The words fell like blades upon Alexbold. His face twisted, and crimson energy burst from his body as though his very blood had chosen to take revenge on its own.
“I’ll kill you!” Alexbold roared, unleashing his blood tentacles like starving serpents.

Teach braced himself.
“Come on!”

The whips of blood cut through the air at impossible speeds. The entire mountain seemed to quake with every clash. Alexbold’s attacks were precise, burning with fury, while Teach endured—slower, weaker, but unyielding.

From the distance, Shun watched closely.
He can’t last much longer. His energy was already drained when he fought me… So why is he still fighting?

A tentacle pierced Teach’s shoulder. Another grazed his leg. Another slashed his side. But he didn’t fall. Not yet.

Teach caught one of the blood whips and hurled Alexbold through the air. Then he grabbed him by the face and slammed him into the ground with brutal force.
“Weren’t you going to avenge your comrades? Then do it! Without hesitation!” he roared, before smashing him against the wall.

Alexbold spat blood, but his eyes still burned.
“You don’t know anything about what I’ve been through…”

And the memories trapped him.
A bloodied hand. The cry of a chained child. The echo of whips carving into his skin again and again. The darkness of a nameless cell.
“You know… nothing.”

The power inside him burst like a river breaking through a dam. A grotesque shadow rose behind him, and his body was wrapped in armor made of blood. A demonic mask with twisted fangs emerged over his face.

He was no longer just Alexbold.
He was the Blood Monster.

Shun recognized it instantly.
He’s awakened… the same monster from last time.

—“I’ll kill you!” the creature bellowed in Alexbold’s voice, and in the blink of an eye it appeared before Teach, landing a direct blow to his chest.
Teach flew, tearing through the rock like it was paper. He fell, coughing up blood... but he did not give up.

—“Brat,” he growled, ripping apart the tentacles that had pierced him with brutal force. “Never count me out...”

He staggered to his feet, and for a moment Alexbold respected him.

—“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that,” Alexbold said, forming a sword of blood that pulsed with stored energy. “But this time, I’ll finish everything.”

—“Blood Explosion!” he shouted, and the slash cut through the air like thunder.
The whole island trembled.
Dust rose like a veil. When it cleared, Alexbold could hardly believe what he saw.

Edén.
With his sword, he had stopped the attack.

—“I told you—I won’t let you do something reckless... Hero,” Edén said.

—“Those bastards…” Teach muttered, clenching his fists as his mind dragged him back into the past.
For an instant his memory betrayed him: the white robe of the religious leader, the fanatic gaze, the disturbing smile... and that symbol. One he now recognized. The same one he'd seen burned into the back of Alexbold’s neck.

—“May I ask you something?” Shun interrupted, pulling him from the trance.

—“Yes...” Teach replied.

—“What did he say to you... just before he took your daughter?”

Teach looked up, confused, rummaging through fractured memories.
—“I don’t remember clearly...” he murmured. “But... he said something about her blood... that it was special...”

Shun’s face hardened. His eyes fixed on Teach with grave intensity.
—“Then there’s no doubt...”

Gently, Shun reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a photograph. It was folded in half, edges worn. He handed it to Teach without a word.

Teach held it with trembling fingers. At the sight of it his face went pale.
—“Hana...” he whispered. Then hesitated—“How... how do you have this photo? But... Hana looks older here... This... this isn’t Hana...”

—“I know,” Shun said dryly. “I’m sorry to tell you, but no. Her current designation is 076.”

Teach didn’t understand.
—“076...? What are you talking about?” he asked.

Shun crossed his arms; his voice took on a darker edge.
—“Years ago, the Twelve Families launched a secret project. Scientific. They sought to create perfect children... genetically superior. To do so, they kidnapped and used hundreds of innocent children as test subjects. Most died... slowly.”

Teach swallowed. His heart pounded violently.

—“They said the project failed... or at least that’s what was announced. The group in charge was eliminated by the Board, but before that... ten of the modified children survived. Only ten.”

Shun turned his gaze to the horizon.
—“No one knows for certain where they are now. Or who controls them. But we know their code names. And one of them... is her. 076.”

Teach pressed his lips together.
—“Are you saying my daughter...?”

—“I can’t promise anything,” Shun said with a rare sincerity. “But I will try. I’ll find your daughter. No matter the cost.”

Teach lowered his head; his eyes clouded with tears that did not fall.
—“Thank you... Shun.”

But the moment of calm was brief.
A chill ran across the island.
Something… or someone… was approaching.

—“You’d better get the hell out of here,” Shun ordered sharply.
—“What are you talking about?” Teach shot back, tense.

Shun didn’t answer right away. He closed his eyes, feeling the shift in the wind—the disturbance in the air’s energy.
—“They’re coming… them.”

A suffocating presence wrapped around the island like a living shadow. Everyone froze. Even Edén, who had remained silent until then, felt his skin prickle.

—“You bastard…” Shun muttered with a faint smirk, lifting his gaze. “You don’t even trust your own shadow, huh?”

On the horizon, a silhouette cut through the crimson light of the setting sun—
A ship with black sails was approaching the coast.
And upon it... stood Clarileo.

Wasting no time, Shun stretched out his hand and opened an oval-shaped portal that pulsed like a dark eye.
—“Be careful,” he said firmly. “We’ll meet again soon… Teach Ravenshadow.”

Teach froze, stunned.
—“How do you—?” But before he could finish, the portal swallowed him and vanished.

A brief, almost awkward silence settled over them.
—“RAVENSHADOW?!” Alexbold exclaimed, turning toward Shun with eyes wide open.

Shun raised an eyebrow with indifference.
—“Huh? Didn’t I mention that before?”