The assault was not over.
Despite the blood that soaked the manor grounds, despite the bodies strewn like broken dolls, the sound of clashing steel had not yet fallen silent.
At the western edge of the courtyard, two members of the Extermination Unit advanced with measured steps, passing over corpses without a glance.
One spoke coldly,
"Do not slow down. Commander Cha Geun dislikes unnecessary disorder."
The other replied,
"Disorder is the message. We are here to annihilate, not to fight."
—
A Saō family soldier, wounded in the abdomen, tried to rise as he screamed,
"For the… manor…!"
One of the Extermination Unit approached him, eyes devoid of emotion.
"This manor ended the day you were born into it."
A spear pierced his throat, lifting him briefly from the ground before being withdrawn with indifference.
—
On the eastern side of the courtyard, Su Rien clutched Shon Ai tightly to her chest.
"Don't look! Don't look!" she cried, desperately trying to shield the child's eyes from the carnage.
But Shon Ai was motionless.
In a broken voice, she asked,
"Mother… why didn't anyone protect Father?"
Su Rien had no answer.
She held the girl closer, tears falling silently.
—
Not far away, Shon Mobai was still fighting.
Not because he was able—
but because he could not run.
As he barely deflected a spear thrust, he shouted,
"We are guests! This is not our affair!"
One of the Extermination Unit laughed.
"Anyone who sees… is part of it."
A brutal strike knocked his sword away.
He fell hard, his head slamming against the stone.
With effort, he lifted his gaze and saw blood streaming from his mother's arm as she tried to rise.
"Moth—er!!!" he screamed.
—
Inside the manor, Saō Ham was still alive.
The bleeding would not stop.
Dai Shia crawled toward him, her voice shattered.
"Saō Ham… say something… curse them… do anything!"
He opened his eyes slowly and looked at her.
"Dai Shia…" he murmured.
"I frightened you all my life… and now I fail even to protect you."
"Don't say that…" she sobbed.
But his breathing faded away.
She screamed his name—the scream of a woman whose world had collapsed.
—
In the training yard, Saō Baek rose for the third time.
"If we fall here…" he gasped, "then nothing will remain."
Shon Mobai, crawling toward him, answered,
"If we die… let someone remember that we tried."
Steel clashed again.
Shouts.
Stabs.
Wounds.
They fell.
One of the Extermination Unit laughed.
"Children of lords… fragile like the rest."
—
Shon Ai continued staring at the courtyard.
In a whisper, she said,
"You said the world was fair… you lied to me."
Her gaze found Cha Geun in the distance.
"Do you feel anything?" she asked.
He stopped.
Looked at her.
"No."
He said it simply.
—
Beneath the shadow of a shattered wall, Saō Hyun watched.
Why am I not screaming?
Why am I not crying?
He saw the guests slaughtered.
He saw a mother dragged across the ground.
He saw an older brother fall.
If this is the price of weakness…
then I will never be weak again.
He whispered,
"Strength… is the only language that is never erased."
—
The Extermination Unit began to withdraw.
One asked,
"Do we finish the rest?"
Cha Geun replied without turning back,
"No. Let fear live."
He stopped at the gate.
Looked into the shadows.
"Stay alive," he said—
as though he knew exactly who he was speaking to.
Then he vanished.
—
After they left…
Silence fell.
The blood was still warm.
At last, Saō Hyun sat down.
He looked up at the rising moon.
If I remain a child… I will be buried here.
He stood.
---