"Subaru."
Subaru's eyes swept the shattered chamber, taking in the ruined stone, the pools of blood, the ragged breathing of those left standing. He catalogued every threat in a single, swift sweep. His gaze landed on Morganna—pressed to the wall, three robed fanatics closing like wolves. They had not fled in the face of DeathGod.
Subaru tapped Thorn's shoulder, calm in the midst of the chaos. "Hey, Thorn… isn't that Morganna being cornered?"
Thorn's head snapped toward the point he indicated. Fear evaporated from his face and left lethal focus in its place. He found Morganna, saw her vulnerability, and the worry in his chest flipped into action. He gripped his hilt. One heartbeat, and he was beside Subaru; the next, he was gone in a blink as his Teleportation flared.
He reappeared before the three robed men. Thorn's blade sang in a single, devastating arc—Strength infused in every inch of steel. The strike met no resistance. The three fanatics were cut down where they stood. Blood sprayed; bodies collapsed. Thorn sheathed his blade with a resonant click, then bowed, closing the space between them as if nothing in the world mattered more.
"My love."
Morganna dropped into his arms without ceremony, burying her face against his chest. "I missed you, love," she whispered, clinging as if the warmth could ward off everything they had seen. Thorn's relief was a physical thing; he hugged her back as if holding her steady would be enough.
Subaru's attention flicked past them. He registered Kibo with Isilwen in his arms and let a flicker of curiosity pass—why is he here now?—before his gaze slid to the altar. DeathGod stood there, a shadowed grin stretched across that impossible face. Subaru's own smile matched it, dark and fierce.
He vanished.
A heartbeat later he reappeared in a motion so fast it was almost a strike of wind, planted directly before DeathGod. Subaru seized the shadowy wrist that is pointing the condensed sphere of void mana. He twisted. The black sphere was wrenched upward and slammed into the roof. The impact detonated against stone, and the collected void burst outward but harmlessly, blowing a massive hole through the ceiling. Sunlight—pure and blinding—poured down, cutting through the chamber like a blade of mercy.
Those who watched felt the shape of the moment change. The thing that had loomed above them, the tangible instrument of their doom, had been destroyed. This was the method of their absolute end, Kibo realized, the thought sharp and cold in his mind.
Ignis's voice rose in Kibo's head, sardonic and fierce. "Brat, now watch how a real fight begins. A god and the strongest man in the world face each other."
DeathGod chuckled, the sound brittle and unhinged. "Subaru… I see you are well."
Subaru released the hand on the wrist as if letting go were the simplest thing. His face was relaxed, but the danger under the calm was like a coiled blade. "Why would I not be? You know me well. I cannot stay dead yet."
All eyes were on them, including Thorn's, who was holding Morganna, wondering how Subaru intended to face this entity.
Subaru chuckled, the sound low and deliberate, meeting the madness in the air with his own.
"I missed you, Subaru," DeathGod said softly, almost fondly, though the grin twisting his shadowed face was anything but gentle. "I missed our adventures, the chaos, the battles… everything we carved into the world together. But tell me… you do realize your time is close, don't you?"
Subaru tilted his head, unimpressed. "Not this talk again. How many times do you want to rehearse this? And who exactly are you to decide when my time ends?"
DeathGod's laughter rippled through the chamber, high and jagged. "Hehehehe… who am I? Subaru, you really crack me up. Always pretending you don't know. But I wonder… did you keep your part of the agreement?"
Subaru shrugged as though it were nothing, though the faintest edge glinted in his eyes. "Why wouldn't I? You made things unbearably difficult, you know. You always do."
"My mistake then," DeathGod replied with mock sympathy, his grin stretching wider, unnatural. "I never realized how much trouble it would cost you. But you do know how things will go from now on."
"Yes, yes, I know," Subaru said, his smile hardening, the air around him tightening with intent. "And since I am the one who is going to kill you… why don't you leave now, Death?"
DeathGod's smile deepened into something darker. "How daring."
The shadowed figure blurred, moving with a speed that bent the eye. His fist drove straight toward Subaru's head. Subaru raised his forearm to block, but the blow carried the raw, void-infused force of an ending. The impact cracked the chamber air like thunder and launched Subaru upward, hurling him clean through the gaping hole in the ceiling.
DeathGod threw his head back and laughed, a sound of pure, chaotic triumph that made the air vibrate. With a flex of his hand, he conjured twin daggers of compressed shadow, their edges bleeding blackness into the sunlight. He leapt after Subaru, vanishing through the torn ceiling in pursuit.
The moment he left, chaos broke. Several followers screamed, stumbling toward the exit in panic. Others, desperate to seize their only chance, bolted for the tunnels.
Morganna's hand snapped upward. Her voice cut the chamber like a blade. "No, you don't!"
From the stone floor erupted thick, glowing vines—the Verdant Aegis of Eternus—twisting and weaving to seal the narrow passage. The desperate followers collided with the barrier, clawing at it, shouting their protests. A handful sank to their knees, broken in spirit, their faith shattered, while others stared hollow-eyed, trapped and defeated.
Kibo straightened, his arms tightening around the trembling Isilwen. His voice was steady, but his eyes betrayed fire. "I need to help Grandpa."
"Brat, who do you think you are?" Ignis's roar burned in his mind, sharp and desperate. "Do not even dream of it. Leave this cursed kingdom and never return. Find your lover, find that girl…now!"
Isilwen, pale but beginning to steady herself, turned her head weakly. Across the chamber she saw Astrid shepherding the surviving elves, her face grim with determination.
"Lily and Syl are safe," Kibo said through clenched teeth. His jaw set with iron resolve. "Grandpa needs me. I cannot stand aside."
"Do you think this is some kind of game?" Ignis's voice cracked with fury and something more dangerous—fear. "You would die before you even blink!"
Kibo's grip tightened on Isilwen. His heart thundered, but he did not waver. "Then help me, Ignis. What are you for, if not this? Or has a Dragon King grown so timid that he cowers when it matters most?"
A silence fell inside him, heavy as a mountain. For a heartbeat he thought Ignis might abandon him. Then came the low, reluctant growl, primal and edged with fire.
"Alright, brat."
Kibo smiled inwardly, a flicker of satisfaction hidden behind his calm expression. Looks like I won this one.
Astrid approached quickly, her face etched with urgency but her voice steady. "Forgive me, stranger… but please. Allow me to take this elf girl with me."
Kibo's arms instinctively tightened around Isilwen. His eyes narrowed. "Why?"
Before Astrid could answer, Isilwen stirred, her breath catching as recognition dawned. "Princess?" Her voice was fragile, tinged with disbelief.
Astrid offered a small, reassuring smile, softening the tension that hung in the air. "Yes. I am here for all of my people. I promise, you are safe now."
Kibo studied her for a long moment before slowly nodding. He loosened his hold on Isilwen. "Then it would be better if you go with her."
Isilwen hesitated, glancing up at him with gratitude. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice trembling with both fear and relief.
Astrid extended her hand. Isilwen took it, and the princess gently guided her toward the cluster of freed elves, her movements protective yet graceful.
At the edge of the group, Takashi stood like a silent sentinel, his gaze hard as steel. His eyes swept over every shadow, every lingering movement, his focus sharpened on one thing—the priest who had slipped away amidst the chaos.
Astrid led Isilwen to him. "Takashi."
At her voice, his attention shifted. For an instant, the intensity in his eyes softened. "Is that all of them?" he asked, his tone low, private.
"Yes," Astrid replied with quiet certainty. She dipped her head in gratitude. "Thank you. I can handle it from here."
Takashi's brow furrowed, unease clear on his face. He cast another glance at the fragile elves, their fear and exhaustion evident. "Are you certain? I can stay…"
Astrid cut him off gently with a smile that held both warmth and resolve. It was rare, and it carried the weight of command. "No. You have done more than enough already. This is my duty. I will see them to safety."
Takashi exhaled, his worry lingering, but he forced a small, awkward smile in return. "Then stay safe."
Behind them, Morganna released her hold. The glowing vines that had sealed the exits retracted slowly into the ground, leaving only the silence of defeat hanging over the remaining cultists.
Takashi placed his hand lightly on his sheathed katana. In the next heartbeat, he blurred, vanishing in the smooth distortion of his internal Chrono Flash, leaving nothing but displaced air in his wake.
Astrid turned to the elves, her presence commanding but gentle. "My people… I am sorry for how the kingdom has treated you. I will bear that responsibility. But for now, please…come with me. Let me lead you out of this darkness."
Her words carried truth. The elves, weary and broken, yet seeing the sincerity in her eyes, nodded in unison. Hope, faint but real, began to spark among them.
"This way," Astrid said, her voice firm yet tender. "Let us run."
The elves obeyed, gathering their strength and following her as she guided them toward the exit.
Kibo watched them leave, his jaw tightening. With the path clear, he strode to where his katana was still embedded in the skull of a fallen robed man. He gripped the hilt, yanked it free with one smooth pull, and sheathed it in a motion filled with grim resolve.
"Brat," Ignis growled in his mind, his voice heavy with warning. "This fight will only bring us greater harm. I advise you now…follow my lead."
Kibo's eyes lifted toward the gaping hole in the ceiling, his resolve already burning. He gave a short, determined nod. "I understand."
And then, in a blur of motion, his figure vanished—consumed by his Mana Rush as he was gone.
Thorn's gaze lingered on the place where Takashi had vanished, then shifted upward where Kibo had launched himself. His eyes moved to Astrid, shielding the elves with unyielding resolve. For a brief heartbeat, he wondered what fate awaited those three. They are young, but their fire burns bright.
Yet his mind snapped back to where it belonged—Subaru.
A light tap on his arm pulled him from his thoughts. Morganna's hand rested there, her expression calm but her eyes holding storm clouds. "I am already done," she said softly, nodding toward the bound worshippers writhing uselessly on the ground.
Thorn's jaw tightened. His hand went to his sword. "Then I need to go help Subaru."
Her grip on his arm tightened, desperation breaking through her calm. "No, you cannot! If you go, you will die!"
He turned to her fully, his voice carrying the weight of iron. "I would rather die side by side with him than stand here watching. He would do the same for me."
Morganna's lips trembled, her frustration warring with the fierce love she bore for him. She clenched her hands, nails digging into her palms, before exhaling. She knew her husband too well; his loyalty was a mountain that no force could move.
"Then I will follow you," she declared suddenly, her voice firm.
Thorn opened his mouth to protest, but she stepped closer, her eyes glimmering with determination. "Do not try to stop me. I will not fight recklessly, but I will stand at a distance, healing whatever wounds you both take. And if the chance arises… I will strike. You know I can still fight."
For a moment Thorn stared at her, torn between duty and love. Then, to her surprise, he chuckled, a soft sound breaking through the tension. Relief, warm and unguarded, spread across his features. He slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She gasped, her cheeks coloring at the sudden intimacy, but she did not pull away.
"Alright," he murmured, his eyes locked on hers.
She looked past him briefly at the fanatics still trussed on the ground, their muffled cries echoing weakly. "And them? What of the worshippers?"
Thorn spared them a glance, his expression hardening to steel. "Let them rot in their bindings. They are not our concern. Our problem is ending that thing."
Morganna's lips curved into a faint, resolute smile. She nodded.
Thorn tightened his hold on her hand. In the next instant, light shimmered around them, the air crackling with displaced mana. And then, with a flash of power, they were gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Subaru was a comet of flesh and steel, plummeting toward the city streets below. Wind tore at his cloth, howling past his ears, while his mind raced in fragments of calculation: trajectory, force, collateral damage.
If I go all out here, my life… the entire district will vanish. Innocents will die. Or worse… he will rise stronger from the destruction.
His jaw clenched. I cannot risk it.
A shrill, gleeful cry split the night.
"SUUUUBARRUUUU!"
The voice was madness made sound. Subaru's eyes snapped wide, catching the blur closing in—DeathGod, a streak of shadow against the falling sky.
Subaru's lips curved into a grim smile. The time for thought was over. His hands shot to his hips, daggers flashing free with a whisper of steel.
DeathGod collided with him in mid-air, not with a crude tackle but with a vicious slash. Subaru caught it, both daggers locking in place, the impact ringing like a bell of iron and void. Sparks burst around them, black mana shrieking against Subaru's condensed aura.
They spun, locked in their vertical descent, a storm of motion carving through the sky.
The ground loomed. At the last instant, Subaru twisted his body, forcing momentum into his fall. The ground erupted in stone and dust as he crashed into a side street, the impact gouging a crater deep into the earth. Shockwaves rippled outward, shoving debris and air like a living force.
Subaru rose in the same breath, body screaming from the collision but spirit unyielding. His boots scraped the stone, his daggers raised, his breath sharp in the thinning dust.
DeathGod landed lightly on the fractured street, his form flickering like smoke given shape. He lunged instantly, his weapon blurring into a stream of murderous arcs.
The clash began in earnest. Subaru's blades met each strike, ringing through the hushed city like a blacksmith's hammer on steel. The air hissed as DeathGod's weapon tore through space, twisting, elongating, shortening—every strike unpredictable.
And through it all came that laughter.
"Subaru! What is wrong?" DeathGod's eyes gleamed with feverish delight. "Stop holding back! Show me! Show me your real self!"
Subaru's grip tightened. He was driven back, step by step, until the force hurled him through the façade of a low-rise building. It shattered around him, stone and wood collapsing, yet Subaru burst through the ruin before it could bury him.
DeathGod was already there, a shadowy blade angled for his eyes.
Subaru reacted on instinct. He dropped one dagger low and slammed his fist forward, mana blazing through his knuckles. The punch cracked against DeathGod's form, blasting him backward with bone-rattling force.
But the laughter did not stop.
The shadow crashed through walls, tearing a path through the building behind him.
Subaru was already there in the next heartbeat, speed bending things. He materialized at DeathGod's side, dagger raised for the killing strike.
The blade sliced true—yet met nothing.
DeathGod dissolved, shadow parting around the steel. He reformed behind Subaru, his voice a whisper at the nape of his neck, followed by a brutal kick.
Subaru caught it on his forearm, but the sheer chaos behind the strike hurled him through open space, flinging him into the thoroughfare. He crashed, rolled, skidded, sparks and stone spraying from the gouged street, and finally came to rest in a haze of dust near a corner where a few terrified people and knights were still scrambling to safety.
And then he saw her.
Lizzie.
She was running across the street, pale with terror, clutching two children tight to her chest. Her breath was ragged, but her legs did not falter.
Subaru's eyes widened. His heart thundered, a surge of mana roaring unbidden through his veins. Lizzie…
The moment shattered.
"Look at me."
DeathGod's voice slithered across reality itself.
Time slowed. Subaru's vision blurred, his limbs suddenly heavy, exhaustion searing into his bones. He forced his gaze upward.
DeathGod stood before him, a grin splitting his shadowed face. His daggers retracted, his body coiling in a graceful spin. Mana pulsed, shaping his weapon into something colossal and merciless—a jagged scythe of pure darkness, wide enough to carve the street in two.
The blade came down in a single, merciless arc.
Subaru hurled himself aside. The scythe struck stone, the impact gouging a trench so deep the earth itself screamed.
He did not hesitate. One dagger slid back into its sheath as he lunged forward, his free hand seizing DeathGod's head in a crushing grip. He slammed the monster into the street, the stone cracking and caving beneath the blow.
DeathGod only laughed, his shadowed face sinking into the fractured ground like oil.
Subaru drew his second dagger and drove it down with all his weight.
The blade pierced nothing.
DeathGod's form melted away, shadows dispersing into smoke before reforming an instant later. His scythe twisted, collapsing into a long, wicked black katana. With impossible speed, he pivoted and lashed low for Subaru's legs.
Steel shrieked. Subaru caught the strike with his first dagger, their weapons locking in sparks that burned the air between them.
DeathGod's grin widened. His body rippled unnaturally, and in the next instant, shadows peeled away from him, one after another.
They took shape around Subaru—spectral doubles, each bearing weapons of their own.
This time, the laughter was everywhere.
DeathGod disengaged his blade, shadows flickering back into his form. For an instant, there was space between them. Subaru seized it, his body blurring into motion. His daggers carved a whirlwind through the clones, cutting them down before their attacks could fully take shape. The specters dissipated like mist under sunlight.
But the real DeathGod was already in front of him. Subaru realized it too late.
The blow came like a hammer. A single punch crashed against his chest, mana-infused and merciless. Subaru's body shot backward, striking the street with enough force to send a tremor through the ground. The shockwave burst outward, scattering dust, rock, and—horrifyingly—the civilians who had not yet escaped. Screams rang as they were hurled aside like leaves in a storm.
Subaru forced himself up instantly, pain burning through his ribs. His first glance was not for DeathGod, but for them. His gaze locked on Lizzie—she was pulling herself up from the broken ground, both arms still wrapped protectively around the two children. Their small faces were pale with terror, but they were alive.
Relief flickered—only for Subaru to see the streak of shadow cutting through the dust. DeathGod was bypassing him, heading straight for her.
No.
Subaru roared, his dagger flashing as his free hand shot out. He caught DeathGod by the leg mid-flight, dragging the monster out of the air and slamming him down with brutal force. Stone shattered beneath the impact.
"Run! Everyone, run!" Subaru's voice thundered across the street. The civilians, stunned and terrified, scrambled to obey.
Pinned to the ground, DeathGod only laughed, his voice muffled by the fractured stone. "Subaru, don't be like that. I'm not a monster." His free leg whipped up, shadows flaring, and the kick blasted Subaru across the street.
He smashed into a cart, wood splintering and bursting around him. Subaru staggered upright, dagger raised. His eyes found Lizzie again.
Her lips moved. "Subaru!" Her voice cracked with fear, desperation, and hope.
Subaru's vision narrowed. This is the cost of restraint, his mind whispered. His heart hammered with cold rage.
And then he saw it.
DeathGod was already there.
The shadowy figure stood behind Lizzie, his hand gripping her neck as though it were nothing more than glass. One of his daggers, long and black as night, rested against her throat. The children in her arms trembled violently, their whimpers breaking the silence.
Subaru's scream tore from him, raw and broken. "No! No, no, no! Death, STOP!"
DeathGod chuckled, the sound high and cruel. The dagger shifted just enough to graze her skin, a thin line of red forming. "Why now, Subaru? You disappoint me. Is this how you fight? Or should I take someone you care about right now, before your very eyes?"
Subaru bent low, his whole body tense, ready to explode with speed. Mana surged violently through him, begging to be unleashed.
DeathGod's grin widened. "Don't even try it. You know what happens when you rush me. You know me."
Subaru's eyes locked on Lizzie's. He pleaded with her silently, his voice breaking when he finally spoke. "Lizzie… calm down. Just hold on, I—"
"Subaru!" she cried, cutting him off. Her arms tightened around the children. Her eyes burned with a final, unshakable resolve. "Protect the children!"
His heart dropped.
DeathGod's laughter rose, shrill and triumphant. "She understands. She gets it." His dagger pressed tighter. "Don't—"
Subaru vanished, the world tearing around him as he moved at the speed of pure thought, his mana burning like a dying star. He saw it—the flick of the dagger, the crimson arc of blood—
"NOOOOOOO!"